Barometers trade sideways; Nifty ends above 23,250

The Feds indication of another rate hike in 2026 kept investors cautious, particularly across rate-sensitive and foreign-portfolio-investment-driven segments. However, selective buying in domestic sectors helped the Nifty close above the 23,250 mark. Market participants are likely to track currency movements, US bond yields and foreign fund flows for further direction.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 21.86 points or 0.03% to 74,314.59. The Nifty 50 index added 53 points or 0.23% to 23,270.60.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.07% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.13%. The market breadth was negative.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 7.82% to 12.14.

Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty Pharma index (up 1.66%), the Nifty Realty index (up 1.45%) and the Nifty Media index (up 1.19%) outperformed the Nifty 50 index.