Indian share markets closed out Wednesday with divergent moves across the two major indices. At the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty 50 ended down 0.12%, while the BSE Sensex 30 finished the session up 0.09%.
Sector performance was mixed: Carbon, Green Energy and Banking stocks were among the session's supporters, while Metals, Oil & Gas and Real Estate weighed on the market. The differing sector outcomes contributed to a session in which falling issues substantially outnumbered advancing ones on both exchanges.
On the Nifty 50, the session's strongest performers included Nestle India Ltd, which climbed 1.95% - a gain of 27.50 points - to close at 1,437.90. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. rose 1.85% or 39.50 points to finish at 2,172.30, and Axis Bank Ltd advanced 1.67% or 21.60 points to end at 1,314.00.
At the lower end of the Nifty, IndusInd Bank Ltd. recorded the steepest decline, losing 4.18% - 38.60 points - to close at 884.20. Coal India Ltd declined 3.41% or 15.90 points to end at 451.00, and Hindalco Industries Ltd. slipped 3.41% or 36.70 points to 1,040.00 at the close.
Turning to the BSE Sensex 30, Hindustan Unilever was among the leaders there as well, up 1.73% to 2,170.00. Nestle India rose 1.68% to settle at 1,434.05 on the BSE, and Axis Bank gained 1.58% to close at 1,313.00.
The laggards on the BSE included IndusInd Bank, which fell 4.21% to 885.00 late in trading. Infosys Ltd lost 3.05% to settle at 1,144.50, while Eternal Ltd was down 2.22% to 240.20 at the close.
Market breadth at the end of the session showed a dominance of losers. On the NSE, 1,798 stocks declined versus 727 that advanced, with 39 ending unchanged. On the BSE, 2,561 issues fell, 1,384 rose and 143 were unchanged.
Volatility as measured by the India VIX rose 0.24% to 15.61, reflecting a modest uptick in implied volatility for Nifty 50 options.
In commodities and currencies, Gold Futures for August delivery were down 2.30% - a decline of 98.64 - to $4,187.76 per troy ounce. Crude oil for July delivery slipped 0.05% or $0.04 to $88.16 a barrel, while the August Brent contract fell 0.15% or $0.14 to $91.31 a barrel.
Currency moves included USD/INR sliding 0.31% to 95.06, while EUR/INR inched up 0.02% to 110.11. The US Dollar Index Futures was modestly lower, down 0.03% at 99.86.
Contextual note - The session data above reflects closing prices, percentage moves and point changes reported for the Nifty 50, BSE Sensex 30, individual large-cap names and selected commodities and currency pairs for the trading day.