The Indian stock market ended Tuesday's session largely flat, with the Nifty 50 closing at 23,985.35 points, down 10.60 points from Monday's close. According to Informist Media, the index traded in a narrow range throughout the session, showing marginal volatility. The BSE Sensex closed at 76,857.15 points, up 21.37 points from the previous session. Despite positive opening cues, the market remained range-bound with Gift Nifty trading over 225 points higher than yesterday's spot Nifty close of 23,983. As per LiveMint, the Gift Nifty Live Chart was signalling a big gap-up opening, with the index trading above 24,200.
Information technology stocks emerged as the standout performers, with the Nifty IT index leading sectoral gains, up 3.5% during Tuesday's session. According to Informist Media, Tata Consultancy Services was the top gainer in the Nifty 50 index, up over 4%, followed by Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Infosys, and Wipro, which gained 1.5-3.5%. In the broader market, Coforge continued to be the major gainer in the Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices, up over 9%, with the company's consolidated revenue for the June quarter rising over 24% quarter-on-quarter and surpassing expectations. The Nifty Realty was the second-biggest gainer among sectoral indices, up over 1.5%, with Lodha Developers being the second-biggest gainer in the Nifty 200 index, up 7% after the company said it aims 30-35% business from its new launches.
Several major stocks faced significant declines following disappointing quarterly results. Hindustan Unilever shares fell 5% to ₹2,062.70 as the company's June quarter results failed to meet Street expectations. According to Informist Media, the company's net profit fell around 4% year-on-year to ₹26.31 billion, below estimates of ₹27.22 billion, while revenue rose around 10% to ₹166.57 billion, also lower than the consensus estimate of ₹168.64 billion. The company's margin contracted 40 basis points to 22.8% and underlying volume grew 5% during the quarter. Godfrey Phillips India shed 8% to hit an intraday low of ₹2,033.50 after the company's June quarter earnings disappointed market participants, with consolidated total sales falling 19% to ₹12.06 billion due to higher excise duty on cigarette products.
Despite positive opening cues, the underlying sentiment remained cautious as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to influence investor sentiment. As reported by LiveMint, fresh strikes by US and Saudi forces on Iran-linked militant sites in Iraq, alongside reports of Iranian missile strikes on US military bases, have intensified geopolitical tensions and revived concerns over energy supply disruptions. WTI crude oil prices remained lower around $87 per barrel following reports of the US pausing attacks on Iran, which is expected to lift market sentiment. According to Informist Media, Brent crude oil prices remained lower around $87 a barrel amid a pause in war between the US and Iran. Market analysts expect the Nifty 50 to remain volatile on the expiry of its weekly derivatives contracts, with India VIX rising marginally to 12.6925 points indicating increased market uncertainty. The U.S. and Iran maintained a pause in hostilities after halting strikes over the weekend, easing fears of supply disruptions and offering some relief to inflation expectations.
Technical analysts maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook for the Indian stock market. Sundar Kewat, technical and derivatives analyst at Ashika Institutional Equity Research, believes that as long as Nifty sustains above the 23,856 points level, the index is likely to remain on an upward trajectory and could test the 24,500 mark in coming sessions. According to LiveMint, Vaishali Parekh from Prabhudas Lilladher believes the Nifty 50 needs to sustain itself above the near-term support of 23,800 level, while the important support zone is positioned near 23,700 level. On the upside, a breach above the 24,100 level shall trigger the next higher targets of 24,400 and 24,600 levels. The August futures contract of the Nifty 50 closed at a premium of 134.75 points to the spot index, with open interest down over 21% from Monday to around 6.12 million, indicating reduced speculative positioning in the derivatives market.
