Stock Market Today: Sensex Tanks Over 700 Points, Nifty Settles Below 24,100

Stock Market Today: At the close of trading, the Sensex was down by 720.60 points, or 0.90 per cent, at 79,223.11, and the Nifty dropped 183.90 points, or 0.76 per cent, to end at 24,004.75

Zomato, HDFC Bank, Tech M, Adani Port and TCS were among the major losers on the BSE Sensex, while gainers included, Tata Motors, Titan Company, HUL, Nestle and RIL

Source : ABPLIVE AI

The bears took control of Dalal Street on Friday, pushing Nifty close to the critical 24,000 level after strong gains in the first two sessions of the new year. The decline was driven by selling pressure in IT, Pharma, and Banking stocks. However, buying activity in media and oil & gas stocks helped mitigate the overall losses.

At the close of trading, the Sensex was down by 720.60 points, or 0.90 per cent, at 79,223.11, and the Nifty dropped 183.90 points, or 0.76 per cent, to end at 24,004.75.

Zomato, HDFC Bank, Tech M, Adani Port and TCS were among the major losers on the BSE Sensex, while gainers included, Tata Motors, Titan Company, HUL, Nestle and RIL. 

Almost 200 stocks hit their 52-week high on the BSE, including names like ITI, Lloyds Metals, Apar Industries, KIMS, Info Edge, Authum Investment, Firstsource Solutions, BLS International, Coromandel International, PB Fintech, Jubilant FoodWorks, 360 ONE WAM, Radico Khaitan, Eicher Motors, United Spirits, Ipca Labs, M&M, Muthoot Finance, HCL Technologies, Welspun Corp, and others.

For the week, the BSE Sensex gained 0.66 per cent, and the Nifty50 index rose by 0.8 per cent.

Among the sectors, Bank, Capital Goods, IT, and Pharma all saw a decline of 1 per cent each, while Oil & Gas and Media stocks rose by 1 per cent each.

The BSE Midcap index fell by 0.33 per cent, while the Smallcap index remained largely unchanged, ending flat.

Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates said, “After a strong pullback, benchmark indices took a breather on Friday, with the Nifty index closing on a negative note at 24,005. The volatility index, India VIX, cooled by 1.43 per cent to 13.54, reflecting reduced market volatility.”

“Technically, on the daily chart, the Nifty formed a red candle, indicating profit booking, while on the weekly chart, it formed a green candle, indicating overall strength. The index continues to hold above the 200-Days Simple Moving Average (200-DSMA), which is currently placed near 23,900. Additionally, it remains above the breakout zone of the short-term consolidation range of 23,500–23,900. As long as the index maintains above 23,900, a buy-on-dips strategy is recommended for Nifty,” Yedve added.

Rupee Movement

The rupee weakened by 4 paise, closing at a record low of 85.79 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday. This decline was driven by robust dollar demand from importers and a subdued performance in domestic equities, which dampened investor sentiment. Forex traders noted that the dollar had strengthened against most currencies in 2024 and continued to maintain its strong position in the new year.