A tale of two markets unfolded on Dalal Street Thursday as Sensex and Nifty closed marginally lower while midcap indices notched impressive gains. The Sensex declined 0.16% or 127 points to 82,118, with Nifty 50 slipping 0.23% or 58 points to 25,124. Broad participation from mid and smallcaps prevented deeper losses.
Banking stocks faced sustained selling with Nifty Bank down 0.75%. Axis Bank shed 1.5% and SBI lost 0.8%, reflecting concerns over loan growth slowdown. FMCG majors like HUL and Nestle also ended weak, down 1-1.5% range.
Midcaps emerged as clear winners, led by power, realty, and consumer discretionary names. Adani Green Energy soared 3.8%, NHPC climbed 2.9%, while Macrotech Developers gained 2.5%. The Nifty Midcap 100 index advanced 0.65%, comfortably beating benchmarks.
‘Investors are rotating into high-growth midcaps offering better risk-reward versus largecaps trading at peak valuations,’ observed Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research at Motilal Oswal. Advance-decline ratio favored bulls at 58:42, with 31 Nifty stocks ending in green.
Foreign investors offloaded ₹1,500 crore worth of equities, marking fourth straight selling session. Domestic funds countered with net buying of ₹2,800 crore. As markets await US Fed rate decision, analysts recommend stock-specific approach favoring sectors with earnings visibility like infrastructure and renewables.