Sensex Today: Indian equity benchmark indices began Friday’s session on a largely flat note with a mild negative bias, as investors remained cautious in the holiday-shortened week and fresh triggers were scarce.
Domestic markets were shut on Thursday on account of the Christmas holiday.
At around 9:20 AM, the NSE Nifty slipped 12 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 26,130.10, while the BSE Sensex was down 36.71 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 85,371.99.
Among the laggards, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Sun Pharma, TCS, Tata Steel and HCLTech declined up to 1.4 per cent. On the other hand, BEL, Titan, NTPC, Power Grid and ICICI Bank featured among the top gainers in early trade.
The broader market showed modest strength, with the Nifty Midcap index advancing 0.21 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap index edging up 0.08 per cent.
Commodities Corner
Gold and Silver prices continued to move upwards on Friday, Dec 26. Silver futures on MCX, for March expiry, jumped over 3 per cent in early trade today to hit a high of ₹2,32,156 per 1 kg.
Gold futures on MCX, scheduled for February expiry, advanced 0.6 per cent.
Rupee Vs Dollar
Indian rupee opened 7 paise weaker on Friday, Dec 26. The domestic currency started trade at 89.86/$ Vs Wednesday’s close of 89.79/$
Global cues
Asian markets began Friday on a positive footing, although trading activity remained thin with several regional exchanges closed for the Boxing Day holiday. Government data released on Friday showed that Tokyo’s core consumer prices rose 2.3 per cent year-on-year in December, remaining above the Bank of Japan’s 2 per cent inflation target. In early trade, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.93 per cent, while South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.73 per cent. Markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed for the holiday.
Overnight, US equities ended higher in a holiday-shortened session on Wednesday, extending a broader market rally. The S&P 500 advanced 0.32 per cent to close at record highs, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.22 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6 per cent.