Nifty, Sensex open flat; pharma stocks gain, Titan plunges 3%

Indian equity markets opened flat on Thursday (April 23) with the S&P BSE Sensex rising 110 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 31,450 and the Nity50 index was around 9,210 levels. 

All the Nifty sectors were in the green led by Nifty Pharma index. Titan plunged 3 per cent.

Indian benchmark indices traded positive in the pre-opening session with the Sensex gaining 79.92 points or 0.25% at 31459.47, and the Nifty advancing 30.15 points or 0.33% at 9217.45. The pharma and the IT index went up half a percent each while auto stocks dragged.

On Wednesday (April 21), equity benchmark indices ended higher with Nifty closing near to 9200 level supported by the deal between Reliance Industries and Facebook Inc. Expectations of a fiscal stimulus bolstered the market sentiment even as Asian shares dipped and Brent oil futures plunged to a two-decade low amid damage done by the coronavirus pandemic.

Except for Nifty pharma, PSU bank, and realty, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty media up by 6.6 per cent, auto by 2.5 per cent and FMCG by 2.4 per cent.

Zee Entertainment staged a brilliant performance on Wednesday and closed 20 per cent up at Rs 155.10 per share. The other major gainers were Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India, Britannia, Maruti and Hero MotoCorp. However, ONGC fell by 5.6 per cent to Rs 65.45 per share and Vedanta by 2.5 per cent. Larsen & Toubro, Cipla, Power Grid Corporation, and Grasim too traded with a negative bias.