Sensex trades flat ahead of Union Budget

Sensex trades flat ahead of Union Budget Mumbai, July 23 (IANS) India equity indices were trading flat on Tuesday ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget presentation at 11 a.m. in Parliament. At 9:55 a.m., Sensex was up 35 points or 0.04 per cent at 80,537 and Nifty was up 2 points or 0.01 per cent at 24,511. Selling is seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index is down 109 points or 0.19 per cent at 56,515 and Nifty smallcap 100 index is down 105 points or 0.57 per cent at 18,457. Among the sectoral indices, Auto, pharma, FMCG, and realty are the top gainers. IT, PSU Bank, fin service, and metal are the major laggards. The Economic Survey was presented on Monday before the budget, in which GDP is estimated to grow by 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent in the current financial year. Deven Mehata, Research Analyst at Choice Broking, said, "Nifty can find support at 24,450 followed by 24,400 and 24,300. On the higher side, 24,600 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,800 and 25,000." The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,444 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,652 crore on July 22. --IANS avs/dpb