The Indian stock market ended lacklustre on Monday, 10 August, with gains in shares of select heavyweights, including Titan, Bajaj Finance, and ICICI Bank, largely offset by losses in SBI and Reliance.
The market witnessed stock and sector-specific movement as geopolitical uncertainties and elevated crude oil prices kept sentiment cautious.
The Sensex rose 43 points, or 0.06%, to end at 78,542, while the Nifty 50 inched up by 13 points, or 0.05%, to settle at 24,583.80. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose by 0.62%, while the Smallcap 100 index dropped 0.27%.
Crude oil benchmark Brent crude jumped over 1% to trade near $85 per barrel as Yemen's Houthis have resumed attacks on the Red Sea port city of Mocha, according to a Yemeni military spokesperson cited by Reuters.
According to reports, Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz. However, Tehran has reiterated that the US must meet certain conditions, including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats, before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
"Markets remained on a tight leash as uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz continued to temper risk appetite, even as encouraging corporate earnings lent support to broader sentiment," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.
Softer-than-expected U.S. jobs data helped investors dial back expectations for U.S. Fed rate hikes and shift their focus to Wednesday's U.S. CPI inflation data for fresh direction on rates and U.S. bond yields.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed on Friday that nonfarm payrolls decreased 23,000 last month following a combined 1,03,000 downward revision to the May and June figures.
"A softer yield environment could revive interest in emerging markets and pave the way for stronger FII participation. Amid these global crosscurrents, India's robust domestic growth engines and resilient economic fundamentals continue to stand out, providing a strong anchor for investor confidence," said Nair.
Titan Company, Tata Consumer, Bajaj Finance, and Shriram Finance were the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index. On the other hand, SBI, Eternal, ITC, Dr Reddy's Labs, and TCS ended as the top laggards in the index.
Nifty PSU Bank crashed 1.67%, settling as the top loser among sectoral indices. Nifty Oil and Gas (down 0.37%), Healthcare (down 0.35%), Pharma (down 0.23%), FMCG (down 0.14%), and Auto (down 0.09%) also ended with losses.
Bank Nifty dropped 0.10%, while the Financial Services index climbed 0.30%.
On the other hand, Nifty Realty jumped 1.35%. Private Bank, Consumer Durables, Metal, and IT indices rose by up to 0.52%.
According to Shrikant Chouhan, the head of equity research at Kotak Securities, a small candle on daily charts and non-directional activity on intraday charts indicate indecisiveness between the bulls and bears.
"24,650 and 24,700 would act as immediate breakout levels. Above these, the market could rally to 24,800–24,850. On the flip side, below 24,500, selling pressure may accelerate. Below this, the market could retest levels of 24,400–24,350," said Chouhan.