Sensex, Nifty trade flat in early trade; Kotak Mahindra Bank shares down 10%

Benchmark stock market indices opened the trading session on a flat note as investors remain focused on Q4 results.

The S&P BSE Sensex down 54.56 points at 73,798.38 at 9.58 am, while the NSE Nifty50 was down 5.20 points to 22,397.20.

All the other broader market indices were also trading in positive territory, but with marginal gains.

Among sectoral indices, the high-weightage Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were trading in negative territory, while Nifty IT was barely in the green. Nifty Realty fell nearly 1%.

The top five gainers on the Nifty50 were Axis Bank, HCLTech, Sun Pharma, SBI and Grasim. On the other hand, the top drags were Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consumer Products, HUL, LTIM and Shriram Finance.

Kotak Mahindra Bank shares fell over 10% in early trade after the Reserve Bank of India barred it from onboarding new clients through online channels and issuing credit cards.

Meanwhile, Axis Bank shares rose after the lender reported a net profit of Rs 7,130 crore.

On the other hand, shares of Tata Consumer Products, HUL and LTIM fell a day after they reported Q4 results.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said, “US stock futures are taking a sharp dive on Thursday morning, spurred by Meta Platforms' substantial 15% stock price plummet following a disappointing revenue outlook.”

“While a sluggish volatility index hints at hopes for stability in the upcoming elections and geopolitical tensions, concerns linger over escalating conflicts in the Middle East, albeit tempered by a drop in oil prices,” he added.

“All eyes are on Friday's inflation report amid the Federal Reserve's data-dependent stance. In the Indian market, FIIs turned net sellers while DIIs made purchases. Attention is also focused on the release of Q4 earnings,” Tapse noted.