Benchmark indices declined in early trade after opening positive on Wednesday. BSE Sensex traded at 77,987.48, down by 66.04 pts or 0.08 per cent, and Nifty 50 traded at 23,696.65, down by 24.65 pts or 0.1 per cent as of 9.32 am.
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Commenting on the Nifty outlook, Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, said, “As long as the index is trading above 23500/77300, the positive sentiment is likely to continue. On the higher side, 23835-23900-24000/78500-78700-79000 would be the immediate resistance levels. However, a drop below 23500/77300 could weaken the uptrend, possibly leading to a retest of 23400-23350/76900-76800. Buying around 23630/23600 levels is advisable with a stop loss below 23500.”
Sectoral indices traded in a mix. Nifty media, consumer durables, IT, oil & gas stocks traded in the positive territory as of 9.24 am.
Nifty bank slipped 0.08 per cent to trade at 52,562.95, and PSU Bank was down by 0.09 per cent at 7,337.65.
Stocks to watch
The major stocks that emerged as gainers of Nifty 50 pack were Ultratech Cement (2.44 per cent), L&T (1.01 per cent), ICICI Bank (0.90 per cent), NTPC (0.82 per cent), and BPCL (0.81 per cent). Top losers were Apollo Hospitals (-1.74 per cent), Hindalco (-1.29 per cent), M&M (-1.14 per cent), HDFC Bank (-0.91 per cent), and Bajaj Auto (-0.89 per cent).
ICICI Bank stocks has hit a 52-week high at ₹1,218 on the NSE.
Other major stocks that hit a 52-week high include Punjab Chemicals (7.70 per cent), Jubilant Industries (5 per cent), Mazagon (4.13per cent) and Naukri (1 per cent).