Sensex and Nifty close in Red

24 Jul 2024 , 04:29 PM

On July 24, Indian benchmark indices experienced profit booking for the fourth consecutive session, with the Nifty closing below 24,450, primarily driven by declines in banking stocks.

The Sensex fell by 280.16 points, a 0.35% drop, to close at 80,148.88, while the Nifty decreased by 65.50 points, a 0.27% decline, ending at 24,413.50. Despite weak global cues, the Indian indices opened higher but turned lower within the initial hour, extending losses throughout the day. However, last-hour buying helped recover some of the intraday losses.

Among the major Nifty losers were Bajaj Finserv, Britannia Industries, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consumer, and Axis Bank. On the other hand, the top gainers included HDFC Life, Tech Mahindra, BPCL, NTPC, and Tata Motors.

Sectorally, healthcare, oil & gas, media, telecom, and power sectors posted gains of 1-2%, while FMCG and banking sectors declined by 0.5-1%. The media sector emerged as the top performer, followed by the energy sector, whereas the FMCG sector saw a decline due to profit booking.

The BSE Midcap index rose by 0.7%, and the Smallcap index increased by 2%. Over 200 stocks reached their 52-week high on the BSE, including prominent names like NTPC, ITC, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Max Financial, Indraprastha Gas, CG Consumer, Deepak Nitrite, Federal Bank, Glenmark Pharma, and Oracle Financial Services. The sectoral highlights showed the media sector as the top gainer, the energy sector performing well, and the FMCG sector undergoing a correction due to profit booking.