Sensex, Nifty off to a muted start ahead of key macro data

Indian benchmark equity indices were off to a muted start on Thursday as investors brace for key domestic and U.S. economic data. Meanwhile, in early trade, all sectoral indices were in traded in the red.

The BSE Sensex was trading 30 points or 0.04% lower at 72,274. Nifty50 was trading at 21,910, down 40 points or 0.18% at around 9.23 am.

From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries, SBI, M&M, Titan, and IndusInd Bank opened with gains, while UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, Nestle India, and Tata Motors opened with cuts.


Nifty Smallcap100 and Midcap100 indices opened nearly 0.5% lower after the country's mutual fund industry body asked members to moderate flows into small- and mid-cap funds and protect investors from large outflows.

Among individual stocks, Shriram Finance surged 4.4% after NSE decided to replace UPL with Shriram Finance in its Nifty 50 index, effective on March 28.

Investors await the core personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE), due after the closing bell, for clues on the timing of the U.S. Federal Reserve's first rate cut.

Domestic data, also due after the closing bell, is expected to show India's growth likely moderated to 6.6% year-on-year (YoY) in the October-December quarter.


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