Sensex Edges Up In Volatile Trade Amid Caution Ahead Of Inflation Data, Nifty Above 25,100

Stock Market Today: Domestic benchmark indices started on a cautious note on Thursday, June 12, trading largely flat with a slight positive bias as investors awaited the release of key inflation data later in the day. At 9:20 AM, the Sensex was up by 71.73 points, or 0.09 per cent, to trade at 82,586.87. Likewise, the Nifty 50 was up by 26.05 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 25,167.45.

Broader markets also hovered near the flat line. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 were swinging between gains and losses in a choppy start to the session.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare led the gains, with both the indices rising over 1 per cent each. Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty Media were trading in the green, while Nifty IT, Nifty Realty, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Metal were in the red. On the other hand, Nifty FMCG, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty Consumer Durables were trading around flat levels. 

The Nifty Bank, which tracks the top 12 private and public banks, traded flat, slightly in the red. It was down by 0.03 per cent at 56,442.55.

Earlier on June 11, the Sensex rose 123.42 points, or 0.15 per cent, to close at 82,515.14, and the Nifty gained 37.15 points, or 0.15 per cent, to settle at 25,141.40.

Sensex, Nifty 50: Top Gainers & Losers

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, and Dr Reddy's Lab were the top gainers, while Infosys, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, and Tata Steel were the top losers.

Among the 30 stocks in the Sensex, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and Adani Ports led the gains, while Infosys, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, and HCL Technologies were the top drags.

Global Sentiments Subdued

US stock market closed lower on June 11 amid rising tensions in the Middle East and as investors awaited further clarity on US-China trade negotiations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended nearly unchanged at 42,865.77, while the S&P 500 fell 0.27 per cent to 6,022.24 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.50 per cent to close at 19,615.88.

However, a mild inflation report provided some relief. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 2.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in May from 2.3 per cent in April. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, remained steady at 2.8 per cent annually. On a monthly basis, both headline and core CPI posted a modest 0.1 per cent gain.

In Asia, stock markets were largely trading on a mixed note in early trade on June 12. The Hong Kong-based Hang Seng was trading 0.5 per cent lower; China’s SSE Composite was almost flat, however, on the positive side; Japan’s Nikkei 225 was in red, down by 0.6 per cent; and South Korea’s KOSPI was up by 0.76 per cent.