Indian equity markets traded higher at midday on Thursday, holding onto most of their gap-up opening gains while entering a narrow consolidation phase as participants adopted a cautious approach at higher levels. At 12:15 pm, the Sensex stood at 77,449.38, up 539.70 points or 0.70 percent, while the Nifty 50 was at 24,217.20, up 138.90 points or 0.58 percent against its previous close of 24,078.30. The Nifty remained confined to a tight 42-point range since the opening.
Market participants noted that frontline private-sector banks displayed relative strength, providing crucial support to the benchmark indices. HDFC Bank emerged as the top contributor to the Nifty’s gains. According to Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, options data showed meaningful call writing across the 24,300 and 24,400 strikes, alongside substantial put open interest at the 24,200 and 24,100 strikes. The Nifty Advances-Declines Ratio stood at 40:9.
Among the Nifty 50 gainers, Eternal led the pack with a 2.19 percent rise to ₹327.00 on heavy volumes, followed by Shriram Finance, which advanced 1.93 percent to ₹1,127.40. Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 1.82 percent to reach ₹397.35, Bajaj Finance rose 1.60 percent to ₹1,097.50, and Jio Financial Services added 1.40 percent to trade at ₹246.55. On the other hand, Hindalco was the biggest decliner, falling 0.77 percent to ₹1,030.90. Asian Paints dropped 0.67 percent, Apollo Hospitals and Nestle India each shed 0.37 percent, and IndiGo slipped 0.20 percent.
Sectorally, Nifty Bank and Nifty IT performed best, whereas Nifty Oil and Gas emerged as the worst performer. Across the BSE, 2,491 stocks advanced against 1,562 declines, with 149 stocks touching 52-week highs and 68 hitting 52-week lows.
In the commodities segment, COMEX Gold traded at $4,553.70, up 0.22 percent, while MCX Gold stood at ₹1,58,499, up 0.32 percent, extending its breakout past the ₹1,58,000 threshold. COMEX Silver surged 2.02 percent to $67.155 to hit an eight-week high, supported by a year-on-year increase in Chinese imports of silver-bearing ores driven by the country's solar-panel and power-grid sectors. MCX Silver gained 1.40 percent to ₹2,40,108. Meanwhile, MCX Crude Oil eased to around ₹8,100 after encountering resistance near ₹8,350, and WTI crude held near $84.50 per barrel. The Indian rupee traded around ₹95.60 against the US dollar.
Investors were also closely monitoring upcoming remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole symposium for policy cues, while unresolved geopolitical tensions involving the US and Iran sustained a risk premium across energy and currency markets.
"The current market behavior reflects a disciplined, wait-and-watch approach among traders as indices consolidate near higher levels. Support from private-sector financials is providing stability to the broader benchmark indices despite selective sectoral drag in metals and energy. Investors are rightly keeping a close eye on global macroeconomic cues, including commodity price movements and upcoming central bank commentary, which will dictate near-term market direction." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes
