Nifty slips 6 pts, but ends above 10,000

Mumbai: Benchmark Nifty managed to close above the 10,000-mark on the first day of August series today after selling pressure was witnessed in pharma, metal, infra and bank counters.

Sustained buying was seen in IT, PSU Bank, FMCG and media sectors, which recouped losses during the last hour of trade.

Overseas, European bourses edged lower as corporate earnings continued to dominate market movements and as fresh political tensions in Washington dampened sentiment.

Most Asian stocks declined after US tech shares retreated from recent rallies, though optimism about US corporate earnings and the global economy underpinned overall sentiment.

US equities closed mixed yesterday.

The 50-share Nifty opened lower at 9,996.55 and moved in a range of 10,026.05 and 9,944.50 before ending at 10,014.50, down 6.05 points or 0.06 per cent from its last close.

It saw an intra-day movement of about 81.55 points.

Sector-wise, Pharma fell 2.10 per cent, followed by Metal (1.33 per cent), Private Bank (0.60 percent) and Infra (0.52 per cent).

Gainers included IT (0.82 per cent), PSU Bank (0.69 per cent), FMCG (0.24 per cent) and Auto (0.15 per cent).

Major index gainers were HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, ONGC and Eicher Motors.

Index losers included Dr Reddy’s, Lupin, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Hero Motocorp and L&T.

The Nifty midcap and smallcap indices rose 0.50 per cent and 0.64 per cent, respectively.

A total of 891 scrips declined, 779 advanced while 76 remained unchanged.

Total securities that hit their price bands were 125.

Turnover in the cash segment fell to Rs 29,250.06 crore from Rs 40,109.99 crore, yesterday.

A total of 17,174.43 lakh shares changed hands in 9,133,158 trades. The market capitalisation of listed firms on the NSE stood at Rs 1,30,55,313.78 crore.

PTI