Share Markets Remain Highly Volatile, Sensex Ends Below 84,500, Nifty Nearly Flat
Both equity benchmarks traded with a negative bias in today's session, weighed down by subdued global cues as investors remained cautious amid weakness in overseas markets.
The Indian stock market closed Thursday's trading session on a muted note. The BSE Sensex settled for the day below 84,500, slipping 78 points, while the NSE Nifty50 ended trading almost flat around 25,816.
On the 30-share Sensex, TCS, Tech M, Infosys, Adani Ports, and Axis Bank emerged among the gainers. Meanwhile, the laggards included Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, NTPC, and L&T.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap Select climbed 0.68 per cent during closing. Sectorally, the IT index jumped 1.21 per cent, while the Media index declined 1.27 per cent.
Market Sentiment Remains Cautious
After opening on a subdued note, the Nifty attempted to stage a rebound in the first half of the session but struggled to hold on to gains as the day progressed. Weakness in energy, auto and pharma stocks weighed on the benchmarks, although strength in IT shares helped limit the downside. Late-session buying interest in select financial and metal stocks also supported a partial recovery before the close.
Market sentiment remained cautious amid mixed global cues and concerns around currency movements, said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd. He noted that these factors continued to keep traders on the sidelines for most of the session. In initial trade, the Sensex slipped 214.87 points to 84,344.78, while the Nifty fell 56.10 points to 25,762.45.
Asian Markets, Oil Prices, And US-India FTA
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said early gains after three consecutive sessions of decline were driven by value buying and a recovery in the rupee, aided by central bank intervention. However, uncertainty surrounding a possible US-India trade agreement weighed on investor confidence, triggering profit booking at higher levels later in the day, he added.
Despite broad weakness across Asian markets, Indian equities managed to rebound from intraday lows. That said, selling pressure resurfaced near higher levels as traders chose to cut exposure ahead of the release of US consumer price inflation data, said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers on Wednesday, purchasing equities worth Rs 1,171.71 crore, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also remained supportive, with net buying of Rs 768.94 crore in the previous session.
In the commodities market, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.42 per cent to $59.93 per barrel.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the Sensex had edged lower by 120.21 points to close at 84,559.65, while the Nifty slipped 41.55 points to end at 25,818.55.
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