Indian stock markets on Monday ended on a flat note in a volatile session. Information Technology (IT) stocks outperformed.
At close, Sensex was at 77,616.40, up by 47.01 points or 0.06% while Nifty was up by 24,211.00 up by 4.10 points or 0.02%. Among the key IT stocks, TCS led the rally with a gain of 5.37%, followed by HCLTech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys.
Indian rupee ended 30 paise lower at 95.62 per dollar against its previous close of 95.32. Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities said, “Rupee traded weaker by around 0.26% to 95.60, as a more than 4% surge in crude oil prices increased concerns over India’s import bill and weighed on the domestic currency. The renewed escalation in US-Iran tensions also supported the US dollar, keeping pressure on emerging market currencies. Market participants will closely watch the upcoming US CPI inflation data, which could determine the next move in the Dollar Index and global currencies. FII flows will remain another key factor, as recent improvement in foreign inflows has helped cushion the rupee’s downside.”
“If Brent crude fails to sustain above the $80–82 per barrel zone, it could provide support to the rupee and limit further depreciation. Technically, the rupee is expected to trade in the 95.20–96.00 range in the near term.”
During the session, overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to over Rs 482 lakh crore from Rs 481.75 lakh crore in the previous session.