Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex ended its six-day winning streak, falling by nearly 278 points, while the Nifty closed below 26,000 due to profit-taking in IT, metal, and capital goods shares amid a weak trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 277.93 points or 0.33 percent to settle at 84,673.02, having dropped 392.59 points or 0.46 percent to 84,558.36 during the day. The 50-share NSE Nifty decreased by 103.40 points or 0.40 percent to close at 25,910.05. Among Sensex companies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Eternal, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever, and Bharat Electronics were significant laggards. In contrast, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, and Titan were among the gainers.
“The domestic equity market declined as investors took profits following the recent rebound, reflecting weak global sentiment. Diminished expectations of a US Fed rate cut in December have weighed on sentiment, with IT, metal, and realty stocks faltering amid a stronger dollar,” stated Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited. The BSE smallcap index fell by 0.85 percent, while the midcap index dropped by 0.70 percent. Sectoral indices showed realty plummeting by 1.98 percent, followed by BSE Focused IT (1.16 percent), IT (1.15 percent), metal (1.07 percent), commodities (0.95 percent), and industrials (0.93 percent), with only the Consumer Durables index showing gains. A total of 2,740 stocks declined, while 1,463 advanced, and 138 remained unchanged on the BSE.
“A sharp sell-off in global equities, spurred by concerns over stretched valuations in the technology sector, prompted widespread profit booking on domestic markets. However, Indian markets managed to contain their losses, especially compared to the over 3 percent declines seen in Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi. This relatively resilient performance underscores the strong buying support from domestic institutional investors at lower levels, which helped mitigate the downturn,” remarked Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal mentioned on Tuesday that “You will hear good news” regarding the proposed trade pact between India and the US once the deal is fair, equitable, and balanced.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 442.17 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks valued at Rs 1,465.86 crore in the previous trade.
