NIFTY50 and SENSEX trade flat; Ultratech Cement, Grasim and Shriram Finance among top gainers

Indian equity markets continued to trade flat in the mid-market session as factory growth softened in November due to high inflationary pressures. The HSBC final India manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 56.5 last month from 57.5 in October. Further, sentiments were also muted as Crisil expects India's GDP growth to slow to 6.8% this financial year 2024-25.

It said growth is weighed down by high interest rates and low fiscal impulse. Besides, the depreciation in the Indian rupee against the dollar weighed down sentiments. The rupee weakened by 7 paise to 84.67 against the dollar at the inter-bank foreign exchange market on account of increased demand for American currency from importers and banks.

On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Consumer Durables, Real Estate, Basic Materials, Healthcare, and Consumer Discs, while selling was witnessed in Bankex, Oil and gas, PSU, Capital Goods, and Utilities.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after China released its official purchasing managers’ index reading for November. Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.3—its highest level since April—beating the 50.2 expected by the street. Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.1 in October. Back home, in the stock-specific development, HG Infra Engineering rose after the company was declared a qualified bidder by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam for a battery storage project.

The BSE Sensex traded at 79796.26, down 6.53 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 79308.95 and 79881.51. The index had 18 advancing stocks and 12 declining stocks.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.39%, while the Small cap index was up by 0.63%.

The NIFTY50 traded at 24145.95, up by 14.85 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 24008.65 and 24182.60. The index had 29 stocks advancing and 21 stocks declining.

Top gainers and losers

Asian markets

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 27.9 points or 0.14% to 19,451.51. Shanghai Composite strengthened 35.36 points or 1.05% to 3,361.82, Straits Times rose 14.02 points or 0.37% to 3,753.31, KOSPI increased 11.32 points or 0.46% to 2,467.23, Nikkei 225 surged 328.63 points or 0.85% to 38,536.66 and Taiwan Weighted added 536.82 points or 2.35% to 22,799.32. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 13.8 points or 0.19% to 7,100.47.