Sensex, Nifty close flat after volatile session; power, auto stocks slip

The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex settled at 58,387.93, up 89.13 points or 0.15% while the broader CNX Nifty50 index finished the day at 17,397.50, up 15.50 points or 0.09%.
Benchmarks end flat; Nifty slips below 17,400

Benchmarks end flat; Nifty slips below 17,400

Photo : BCCL
Domestic benchmark indices closed flat with a positive bias after a volatile session that also saw the Reserve Bank of India raise key policy rates by 50 basis points. On a weekly basis, Sensex and Nifty added around 1.4% and the Bank Nifty gained 12.2% in the last one month.
The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex settled at 58,387.93, up 89.13 points or 0.15% while the broader CNX Nifty50 index finished the day at 17,397.50, up 15.50 points or 0.09%.
Shree Cements, Ultra Tech Cements, ICICI Bank, UPL and Bharti Airtel were the top Nifty gainers of the day while Britannia, Hindalco, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Industries were the top laggards.
"Technically, on weekly charts, the index has formed a bullish candle. Further, daily and intraday charts are indicating the continuation of a non-directional activity in the near future. The short texture of the market is still on the bullish side but a fresh uptrend rally is possible only after the 17500 breakout level. Above the same, the index could rally up to 17600-17750. On the flip side, below 17500, the index would retest the level of 17250-17200 and if the downside continues, it may correct up to 17050-17000," wrote Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities Ltd in a post-market note.
Broader markets were mixed as Nifty SmallCap 100 closed 0.06% lower and Nifty Midcap 100 settled 0.22% higher from previous closing levels.
Among sectoral gauges, Nifty Auto and Consumer Durables shed over 1% on Friday and Nifty IT and Nifty Bank added 0.4-0.5%.
"50bps repo rate hike to 5.4% by the RBI makes the policy rate the highest since Aug’19. On the positive note, maintaining the real GDP growth forecast of 7.2% for FY23 is liked by the street. It seems to be more worried about external global factors this time, which has weakened INR recently. The 3rd consecutive rate hike by RBI since May’22 cumulatively 140 bps in its effort to contain inflation would certainly increase cost of borrowing and would impact few consumer sectors. We expect the real estate sector to remain most affected, while the financial sector would be benefited with the likely NIM expansion with higher spread," said Mitul Shah, Head of Research at Reliance Securities on RBI's rate hike on Friday.
Global equity markets continued their strong rally on expectations of peaking interest rates in the US. Meanwhile, global bond yields also witnessed a steady decline, while crude prices fell below pre-war levels.
Decent 1QFY23 earnings print for domestic-facing companies also aided the market sentiment. Metals, autos, oil & gas and consumable fuels were the top performers in the week, while realty was the only major loser on a week-on-week basis.
Within the Nifty Index, Britannia Industries (-5%), Tata Consumer (-3.2%), HDFC Life (-2.7%) and Sun Pharma (-2.6%) lost the most, while Mahindra & Mahindra (+7.2%), Cipla (+6.3%), Adani Port (+6.2%) and JSW Steel (+5.9%) gained the most.
On the economy front, GST collections were strong for June (collected in July) at Rs1,490 bn (May: Rs1,446 bn). India's trade deficit widened to a record $31 billion in July with a sequential decline in exports and somewhat flat imports owing to growing recessionary trends in developed economies and elevated commodity prices. Also, Monetary Policy Committee
(MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the key lending rate, the repo rate, by 50 basis points (bps), taking the policy rate back to the late-2019 levels. The MPC is focused on withdrawal of accommodation.
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