The Indian stock markets showed a slight downturn in Thursday afternoon trading, with both the Sensex and Nifty registering marginal losses. As of 1.20 pm, the Sensex was trading at 82,250.23, down 102.41 points or 0.12 per cent from its opening value of 82,469.79. Similarly, the Nifty stood at 25,168.75, declining by 29.95 points or 0.12 per cent from its opening of 25,250.50.
Despite the overall dip, the market breadth remained positive. Out of 3,954 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,359 advanced, 1,449 declined, and 146 remained unchanged. Notably, 297 stocks reached their 52-week highs, while only 23 touched their 52-week lows. The same number of stocks, 297, hit the upper circuit, while 199 stocks reached the lower circuit.
Among the top gainers on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) at midday were Titan, leading with a 3.50 per cent increase, followed by BPCL (0.97 per cent), Divi’s Lab (0.91 per cent), ITC (0.91 per cent), and Shriram Finance (0.79 per cent). On the flip side, Nestle India faced the steepest decline of 1.27 per cent, with Britannia (-1.10 per cent), Bajaj Finance (-0.90 per cent), HDFC Life (-0.80 per cent), and HCL Tech (-0.73 per cent) also among the top losers.
The pharmaceutical sector showed particular strength, with several Nifty Pharma stocks posting significant gains. Laurus Labs led the pack with a 4.36 per cent increase, followed by Mankind Pharma (1.97 per cent), IPCA Lab (1.95 per cent), and Biocon (1.58 per cent).
This mixed performance comes amidst ongoing global economic uncertainties and domestic market dynamics. Investors appear to be cautious, as evidenced by the marginal declines in the benchmark indices. However, the positive market breadth and the number of stocks reaching new 52-week highs suggest underlying resilience in certain sectors.
As the trading day progresses, market participants will be closely watching for any shifts in sentiment or sector-specific movements that could influence the closing figures. With several hours of trading still ahead before market close, there remains potential for further fluctuations in stock prices and overall market direction.