Sensex and Nifty edge higher as defence stocks lead gains

On Thursday morning the Indian stock exchanges displayed a near‑flat start. The benchmark Sensex posted a gain of 163 points, lifting it to 78,743, and the Nifty edged up by 13 points to 24,636. Defensive stocks provided the main thrust, lifting the Nifty India Defence index by 1.25 % and placing it at the forefront of gainers. Positive moves were also seen in Consumer Durables, Pharmaceutical, PSU Banking, Healthcare and Oil & Gas sectors. Conversely, Real Estate, Automobile, Energy, Information Technology, Media, Commodity and PSE sectors fell short of gains. The Nifty Mid‑Cap 100 index dipped marginally by 78 points to 63,527, while the Small‑Cap 100 rose 79 points to 19,859. In the Sensex basket, gainers comprised Titan, Eternal, BEL, SBI, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Bharat Airtel and Sun Pharma. The laggards featured Power Grid, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, TCS, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Indigo. International markets posted mixed signals – declines in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Jakarta, against a rally in Shanghai. In the United States, the Dow Jones closed up 0.49 % while the Nasdaq slipped 0.83 %. Market watchers emphasized that support zones are still holding, and a decisive move above 24,650 could ignite a breakout, though a breach of 24,775 remains crucial. FIIs exited equities worth ₹943.42 crore and DIIs pulled out ₹2,883.17 crore.