Indian stock markets kicked off the week on a flat note, buoyed by buying in pharmaceutical shares despite uncertain global cues. Early trade saw Sensex at 82,605, down just 21 points, and Nifty at 25,473, up a slender 2 points as of 9:21 AM.
The pharma and healthcare sectors stole the show, topping the gainers’ chart with Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare indices shining bright. Realty, energy, consumer durables, private banks, and PSE stocks also posted gains.
Losers included media, PSU banks, metals, IT, financial services, commodities, services, and defence sectors, reflecting selective selling.
Sensex heavyweights like Power Grid, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, Eternal, Kotak Mahindra Bank, M&M, HCL Tech, and Bharti Airtel advanced, while Infosys, SBI, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Titan, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Trent declined.
Smaller stocks lagged, as Nifty Midcap 100 shed 0.34% to 59,234 and Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 0.47% to 16,953.
Overseas, Asian markets were tepid with declines in Tokyo, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. US bourses ended Friday mixed, Dow gaining modestly while Nasdaq slipped.
Commodity markets were divergent: crude oil firmed up with Brent at $67.80/bbl and WTI at $62.80/oz, but precious metals weakened, gold at $5,002/oz (-0.80%) and silver at $75.11/oz (-3.61%).
Market participants eye upcoming policy decisions and earnings for direction, with pharma resilience offering some comfort.