Nifty today: Sensex gains in early trade, Nifty tops 15,750; Prestige Estates surges 8%, Religare plunges 5%

NEW DELHI: Benchmark indices opened on a flat note on Wednesday due to lack of directional cues. Asian markets were trading mixed in morning trade, tracking muted close for Wall Street stocks overnight. Investors are cautious as they await US inflation figures due later this week.

At 9.20 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 40 points or 0.08 per cent higher at 52,330.31. The NSE Nifty was hovering at 15,757.05, up 16.95 points or 0.11 per cent.

Sameet Chavan of Angel Broking said that the immediate supports for Nifty50 are placed at 15,670 and 15,600 levels. “Nifty50 resistance is seen in the range of 15,770-15,800. A move above 15,800 would then lead to a resumption of momentum in the index towards 16,000,” he said.

Religare Enterprises fell 5 per cent to Rs 139.30. The company has proposed to raise Rs 570 crore via preferential issue of shares to a clutch of investors, including existing shareholders, to fund its business plans.

Prestige Estates climbed 8 per cent to Rs 314.85 after the realty firm reported a sharp increase in its March quarter consolidated profit at Rs 1,336.3 crore, driven by monetisation of a large portfolio of commercial assets.

Adani Enterprises edged 0.18 per cent higher at Rs 1,638.95. The company said it has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary company for manufacturing wind turbine generators.

Among Sensex stocks, climbed 2 per cent to Rs 127.20. Power Grid added 0.51 per cent to Rs 683.15. Sun Pharma, Infosys, HDFC, Dr Reddy’s Labs and NTPC rose up to 0.6 per cent.

Losers included UltraTech Cement, which fell 1.04 per cent to Rs 6,720. Private lenders such as ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank fell up to 0.8 per cent.

Asian stock markets were largely mixed after subdued trading in US stocks overnight.

In overnight trade, US benchmark Dow Jones slipped 0.09 per cent to 34,599.82. The S&P500 index inched up 0.02 per cent to 4,228.26, while Nasdaq Composite added 0.31 per cent to 13,924.91.