Key equity indices the Sensex and the Nifty ended lacklustre amid mixed global cues as investors remained cautious ahead of the US inflation data.
There is hope that US inflation might have risen at a slower pace in July due to a fall in crude oil prices.
As per a poll of economists by Reuters, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) likely rose 0.2% last month after advancing 1.3% in June.
While the Sensex closed 0.06% lower at 58,817.29 while the Nifty settled 0.06% higher at 17,534.75. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices closed 0.13% and 0.10% lower, respectively.
In the 30-share Sensex index, 12 stocks closed in the green with Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and IndusInd Bank as the top gainers. On the flip side, stocks of Bajaj Finance, NTPC, HCL Tech, Wipro and Asian Paints ended as the top laggards.
Among the sectors, BSE Metal closed 1.87% higher, emerging as the top sectoral gainer, followed by the capital goods index which rose 1.29%. However, IT, realty and teck indices fell up to a percent.
"Investors were in a cautious mode in anticipation of the release of US inflation statistics, which will set the tone for the next Fed policy meeting. The US CPI inflation during July is projected to remain high, in line with June inflation levels. This, along with strong job data, will compel the Fed to keep taking a tough approach to reining in high inflation levels," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Crude oil prices remained subdued; Brent Crude traded near the $95 a barrel mark. The rupee rose 14 paise to close at 79.52 per dollar mark.
Technicals
Nifty closed above 17,500 and analysts believe the uptrend may continue as long as the index remains above 17350.
"Nifty has confirmed the resilience of the up trend by closing above the previous congestion high on the daily chart. The important moving averages are comfortably below the current index value confirming the uptrend again. The trend may remain bullish over the short term as long as it remains above 17,350. However, the rally towards 17,750-17,800 is likely to attract selling pressure at the higher levels," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities pointed out that the support has shifted to 17,450 from 17,350. As long as the Nifty is trading above 17,450, the uptrend formation is likely to continue and above which, the index could move up to 17,600-17,650. However, below 17,450 the uptrend would be vulnerable and could retest the level of 17,350-17,300, said Chouhan.
Key market data
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