Key Points
Market continues seventh straight session of gains
Sensex closes marginally above 78,000
IT sector only positive performer
Broader market shows declines
The Sensex, which touched an intra-day high of 78,741.69, eventually closed at 78,017.19, rising 32.81 points or 0.04 per cent.
Similarly, the Nifty settled almost flat at 23,668.65, gaining only 10.30 points or 0.04 per cent. During the session, the Nifty traded within a range of 23,869.60 to 23,627.55.
Despite the slight gains in the indices, market sentiment remained weak, with a majority of stocks witnessing selling pressure.
Out of all traded shares, 1,019 stocks advanced, while 2,868 declined, and 107 remained unchanged.
Sector-wise, the IT sector was the only gainer, while other indices, including auto, capital goods, consumer durables, metal, oil and gas, power, PSU banks, realty and telecom, fell between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent.
Among the top gainers on the Nifty were UltraTech Cement, Trent, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, and Grasim Industries.
On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, and Coal India were among the major losers.
The broader market also saw a decline, with the BSE Midcap index falling 1 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index dropped 1.6 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, only the Nifty IT index closed in the green, while all others saw declines. The biggest sectoral losses extended up to 2.16 per cent.
Market experts believe that cautious investor sentiment and profit booking led to the choppy session, while global market trends and upcoming economic data will continue to influence the market movement in the coming days.
According to Vikram Kasat, Head-Advisory, PL Capital-Prabhudas Lilladher, the market's winning streak stretched to a seventh straight session, with the Nifty closing above 23,600 and the Sensex surging over 1,000 points.
"Focus now shifts to the upcoming US GDP growth report for the fourth quarter, scheduled for release on March 27, along with any fresh updates on trade tariffs," he said.
