Market wrap: Sensex closes flat, Nifty holds 23,400; Titan, Eternal lead gains

Synopsis

Indian stock markets finished the trading session with minor gains. The Sensex and Nifty saw fluctuations throughout the day before settling higher. India VIX, a measure of market volatility, experienced a notable decline. This indicates a period of relative stability after intraday movements. Investors observed the market's performance as it concluded the day's trading.

The Indian stock market closed nearly flat, with Sensex and Nifty ending the session in the green with marginal gains after seeing sharp upswings and downswings during the day.

Sensex rose nearly 14 points to close at 74,360, while Nifty 50 rose around 11 points to end the session at 23,417, nearly unchanged from the previous session. This came as India VIX, which measures volatility in markets, fell over 3% to 15.77.

Titan shares jumped 4% to lead gains on Sensex, while Zomato-parent Eternal jumped 3% to follow. ITC, Tech Mahindra, SBI, Bharat Electronics and ICICI Bank shares meanwhile gained around 1% each. On the other hand, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports and Tata Steel shares dropped around 15 each.

Broader markets closed with higher gains, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices gaining around 0.5% each. Sectorally, Nifty Consumer Durables rallied more than 2%, while Nifty Metal declined 0.7%. Around 1,817 stocks advanced on NSE, while 1,474 declined and 105 remained unchanged.

Rupee watch

Notably, investors now await the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) meeting tomorrow. Meanwhile, rupee closed at 95.7850 per U.S. dollar, from 95.7050 on Wednesday.

FIIs net sold Indian shares worth Rs 5,617 crore on Wednesday, according to data on NSE. They have net sold Indian equities worth more than Rs 39,625 crore in just four consecutive sessions.

India may scrap capital gains tax on FPI investments in govt securities

The Indian government is planning to scrap capital gains tax on investments in government securities by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), a move which will likely shore up overseas capital inflows into the country, The Economic Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, approved the promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Income Tax Act to pave the way for this exemption, sources further told The Economic Times, adding that a notification is expected soon after the President gives her assent to the ordinance.

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