Nifty close marginally lower; Sun Pharma and ONGC gain, Axis Bank falls

Sun Pharma, ONGC, and Maruti Suzuki emerged as the top gainers while Axis Bank, UPL, and Hero MotoCorp were weak today amongst Nifty stocks.

Market update at 3.30 PM: Indices traded flat amid volatility. Nifty closed 0.18 per cent lower while Sensex lost about 100 points. Besides, Nifty Midcap closed flat whereas Nifty Smallcap tumbled 1.14 per cent.  

Among the sectors, pharma & energy ended higher while PSU banks and IT witnessed severe profit-booking. Meanwhile, Sun Pharma, ONGC, and Maruti Suzuki emerged as the top gainers while Axis Bank, UPL, and Hero MotoCorp were weak today amongst Nifty stocks.  

India VIX closed lower by 0.70 per cent at 18.39.  

The level of 15,900 acted as strong support for Nifty and this level shall be significant support in the upcoming days as well.  

Market update at 11.45 AM: Indices have been trading flat amid volatility while Nifty has been experiencing selling pressure at higher levels. It has fallen over 120 points from its intraday high and is currently trading about 10 points higher. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap turned weak, slipping 0.15 per cent & 0.75 per cent, respectively.   

Among the sectors, pharma and auto are trading higher while PSU banks along with IT are trading lower. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and Sun Pharma are the Top Gainers whereas Axis Bank, JSW Steel & TCS continue to fall.   

The advance-decline ratio stands at 753:1,133, which indicates slight bearishness in the market.   

Market update at 9.30 AM: Indices have opened higher despite weakness in the Asian markets. Nifty has climbed 0.20 per cent while Sensex jumped about 100 points. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap are trading on a mixed note.  

FMCG and pharma sectors have outperformed the other sectors. On the other hand, PSU banks are down today.  

Meanwhile, India VIX has slipped over a per cent. 

Pre-market update: Last night, the US markets closed slightly lower after US inflation data was released. The CPI inflation stood at 9.1 per cent, which is 1.3 per cent higher than the earlier month and is at a 41-year high. This has led to an increase in speculation of Fed hiking the interest rates by a full 1 per cent. Nasdaq slipped 0.15 per cent while Dow Jones lost about 208 points.
With this, most of the Asian markets have opened lower and SGX Nifty indicates a loss of 30 points for Nifty.
In the last trading session, the FIIs sold to the tune of Rs 2,839 crore while the DIIs bought about Rs 1,799 crore worth of equity.
Some key companies like ACC, LTI, and Tata Elxsi are set to declare their results today and are likely to be in focus.
Brent crude oil has slipped below the 100-mark amid rising recession worries.
Nifty is likely to open near 15,900, and volatility is expected on the weekly expiry day.