Markets open flat: Sensex up by 55 points, Nifty at 24,644.15; Shriram Finance, Sun Pharma lead

The Indian equity indices open flat today, after being in a downward swing for eight consecutive sessions, following US President Donald Trump's announcement of a steep hike in H1B visa fees on September 19. Investors would be closely tracking the RBI Governor Sajay Malhotra-led Monetary Policy Committee’s decisions on further rate cuts and policy stance today. 

The BSE Sensex was up by 55 points or 0.07%, at 80,322, while the NSE Nifty50 was up marginally by 0.13%, rising by 33 points. 

Shriram Finance was on top of the leaderboard, soaring by 2.82%, with its shares trading at ₹633.50 apiece. Sun Pharmaceuticals and Mahindra and Mahindra followed, rising by 2.18% and 1.15% respectively. 

Emerging as the top laggard was Bharat Electronics, declining by 0.83%, with HDFC Life right behind, dipping by 0.81%. Other losers in today’s trade were SBI Life and Eternal, each down by 0.72% and 0.68% respectively. 

Amongst sectoral indices, all traded positively, except Nifty IT, which was down by 0.09%. Nifty Media rebounded by 1.69%, which declined yesterday after Trump announced new 100% tariffs on foreign films, leading to PVR INOX and Prime Focus declining by 5% in yesterday’s trade. Nazara rallied by 5%, and Sun TV by 4%, adding support to the media index’s rise. Nifty Realty and Nifty Pharma were also top performers, each advancing by around 1.25%. 

Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services are trading marginally upward, advancing 0.37% and 0.25% respectively, showcasing investors’ caution before the RBI policy announcement. 

Broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices in early trade, with Nifty Midcap50 and Nifty Smallcap50 rising by 0.62% and 0.45%. India VIX, or the volatility index, has further cooled down by 1.22% from yesterday’s session, now standing at 10.53. 

On the Nifty50 front, 37 stocks advanced, and 13 declined, whereas on the Sensex index, 22 stocks were gainers, and the remaining 8 were losers. On the NSE, out of 2,688 stocks traded, 1972 advanced, 639 declined, and 77 remained unchanged. Out of the 3,302 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,263 gained, 890 declined, and 149 were unchanged.