Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Snap 7-Day Winning Run; Nifty Slips Below 23,500

The Sensex started on a strong note, reaching an intraday high of 78,167.87, but heavy selling in select heavyweight stocks led to a sharp reversal, pushing the index deep into the red

The BSE Midcap index declined 0.7 per cent, while the Smallcap index dropped 1.5 per cent

Source : ABPLIVE AI

Indian equity benchmarks, Nifty 50 and Sensex, tumbled on Wednesday, snapping a seven-day winning streak as broad-based selling gripped the market. Investor sentiment took a hit amid concerns over the imminent imposition of Trump’s tariffs from April 2, a weakening Indian rupee, and rising crude oil prices, triggering profit booking.

The Sensex started on a strong note, reaching an intraday high of 78,167.87, but heavy selling in select heavyweight stocks led to a sharp reversal, pushing the index deep into the red. Similarly, the NSE Nifty saw a brief uptick before sliding below the crucial 23,500 mark.

By the closing bell, the Sensex dropped 728.69 points (0.93 per cent), settling at 77,288.50, while the Nifty slipped 181.80 points (0.77 per cent) to end at 23,486.85. Market breadth remained weak, with 892 stocks advancing, 2,992 declining, and 100 unchanged.

Among the top gainers on the Nifty were IndusInd Bank, Trent, Hero MotoCorp, HCLTech, and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Cipla, BPCL, and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards.

The BSE Midcap index declined 0.7 per cent, while the Smallcap index dropped 1.5 per cent, highlighting weak market breadth.

Sectorial Update

All sectoral indices ended in negative territory, with Nifty Media, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty Realty witnessing the steepest losses of 1-2 per cent.

Despite the downturn, several stocks hit their 52-week highs, including Aavas Financiers, Chambal Fertilisers, SBI Card, and TCPL Packaging, among others.

Expert Comment

Bajaj Broking Research said, “Benchmark indices ended its seven-session winning streak and closed lower on Wednesday ahead of the monthly expiry session. Nifty opened on a flat note and traded in a range in the first hour of trade. However, profit booking in the second half saw the index closing the session down by 181 points or 0.77 per cent at 23486.85 levels as investors resorted to profit booking amid lack of clarity on US tariff policies after recent sharp rally. Broader market declined at par with the benchmark indices as the Nifty midcap and small cap indices closed down by 0.8 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively. Among the sectoral indices Media, PSU, realty, Banking and Pharma lead the decline with a fall of 2 per cent to 1 per cent.”

“It has formed a bear candle signaling consolidation with corrective bias after recent sharp up move of last 2-3 weeks. Going ahead, we expect index to consolidate in the range of 23,850-23,200 thus working off the overbought condition developed in the daily stochastic after the recent sharp rally of 1900 points in just 15 sessions. Support on the lower side is placed at 23,200 levels being recent breakout area. Overall trend remain positive, we believe the current breather should be used as a buying opportunity in quality stocks in staggered manner for up move towards 24,100-24,200 levels in the coming sessions being the confluence of high of January 2025 and 50 per cent retracement of the entire decline,” it added.