NEW DELHI:
Equity benchmark indices
started on a flat note in the opening trade on Monday . NSE
Nifty 50
drops by 7 points to 22,486.55, while
BSE Sensex
fell by 48.06 points to 74,071.33.
Sensex and
Nifty
were trading firm in the pre-opening session.
Hero MotoCorp,
SBI Life Insurance
, Bajaj Finance and Cipla were among the top gainers on the Nifty index, while the top losers were Power Grid Corp, BPCL, Tata Steel, and Tata Motors.
Indian indices, Sensex and Nifty, closed at fresh record highs on Thursday due to gains in metal and FMCG shares, along with positive global trends and foreign fund inflows.
BSE Sensex, comprising 30 shares, rose by 33.40 points or 0.05% to reach a new peak of 74,119.39. It even touched an all-time high of 74,245.17, gaining 159.18 points or 0.21% during the day.
Nifty also climbed by 19.50 points or 0.09% to close at a record 22,493.55. It reached an all-time high of 22,525.65, rising by 51.6 points or 0.22% during the day.
Last week, both the indexes witnessed a rise of nearly 0.6%, marking their fourth consecutive week of gains, which is the longest winning streak in three months. These indexes had already reached record highs in the preceding two sessions.
Furthermore, data revealed on Friday that India’s equity mutual inflows in February were the highest in 23 months, with small-caps leading the charge, despite concerns about valuations.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, “Equity benchmark indices edged higher after hitting a record high amid a firm trend in the US market and FII inflows.”
Faster-than-expected economic growth for the current fiscal year boosted sentiments for metal and capital goods stocks, Nair added.
Meanwhile in the global trend, Japan’s Nikkei share average experienced a decline of over 2% on Monday as chip-related stocks tracked their US peers lower, while the yen’s strength also weighed on sentiment.
Nikkei had lost 2.48% to 38,704.10 by the midday break, reflecting its biggest daily drop since December 2022.
On Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed lower after touching record highs during the session, with high-flying chip stocks reversing course.
(With inputs from agencies)