An evening walk down Dalal Street | Benchmarks end flat post negative moves; midcaps fall

After trading for the greater part of session in the red, equity benchmarks have managed to cut some losses and close flat with a negative bias. The Nifty managed to end the day below 11,000.

The day began on a good note, with the Sensex opening around 100 points higher, while the Nifty managed to reclaim 11,000. But the Street soon gave up gains to trade negatively, with the 50-share index falling below 10,950 as well.

The highlight of the day was the weakness in midcap stocks, with the index closing almost a percent lower. Sectoral indices such as PSU banks, metals, IT, and pharmaceuticals were all down. The Indian rupee saw some weakness too after it managed to fall around 40 paise to touch 69 per dollar levels, a first since July 6, 2018.

The Sensex was down 22.21 points or 0.06% at 36351.23, while the Nifty was down 23.40 points or 0.21% at 10957.10. The market breadth is negative as 822 shares advanced, against a decline of 1731 shares, while 170 shares are unchanged.

Among stocks, Airtel, Vedanta, Titan and Yes Bank are the top gainers, while Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T, Bharti Infratel and Hindalco have lost the most. Shares of Mindtree have ended down 8 percent on the back of poor results and CFO resignation.