NIFTY50 and SENSEX end lower ahead of Union Budget 2024, Reliance falls 3.4%

Indian equity benchmark indices, after opening lower, managed to rebound and concluded Monday's session on a flat note. The NIFTY50 closed slightly above the 24,500 level, down by 0.09%, while the SENSEX slipped 0.13%, ending at 80,502.80. Despite the recovery from lower levels, this marked the second consecutive session of decline, primarily due to the performance of Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Wipro following their results. In contrast, HDFC Bank lent support to the indices, aiding the Nifty Bank in ending in the green. The Nifty Bank ended the day marginally higher by 14.80 points at 52,280.40.

During the latter half of Monday's trading session, the indices mostly traded within a narrow range as market participants looked forward to the Union Budget 2024. This period of restrained movement could be seen as the calm before the storm. With high volatility expected on Budget Day, indices will likely react sharply to the announcements.

Top Gainers & Losers

Index Movers

The NIFTY50 index pullers and draggers, HDFC Bank (+59.13 pts), Infosys (+13.93 pts), M&M (+12.22 pts), NTPC (+8.71 pts), and L&T (+8.59 pts) were the pullers of the day. Draggers included Reliance (-81.36 pts), Kotak Bank (-19.69 pts), ITC (-17.25 pts), Wipro (-16.57 pts), and SBI (-9.85 pts).

Broader indices

Today, the broader market closed in positive territory. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 1.28%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index climbed by 0.90%. Market breadth was weak on Monday as the advancing stocks outnumbered the declining stocks.

Sectoral Indices

The sectoral indices closed on a positive note. The top three gainers were NIFTY Auto (+1.15%), NIFTY Healthcare (+1.10%), and NIFTY Pharma (+1.06%). The top three losers were NIFTY Oil & Gas (-0.62%), NIFTY Realty (-0.48%), and NIFTY Media (-0.47%).

Global Markets

Asian markets concluded Monday's trading mostly lower. Only Hang Seng gained +1.25%, while the Nikkei 225 Index fell by -1.17%, the Kospi index plunged by -1.16% and the Shanghai index closed down with a decline of -0.61%,

At 3:55 PM, the Dow Jones Futures were trading up by 57 points at 40,619.