Stock market today: Nifty 50, Sensex fall by 1% each; RIL, ITC among top drags; investors lose about ₹2 lakh crore

Stock market today: A day after surging almost 2 per cent each, frontline indices the Nifty 50 and the Sensex dropped by a per cent each on Tuesday, January 30, with shares of Reliance Industries (RIL), ITC and Bajaj Finance among the top drags.

The domestic market witnessed a widespread selloff as most sectoral indices ended with losses. Investors booked profit ahead of the US Fed policy outcome on January 31. 

While a status quo on interest rates is widely expected, experts say the focus will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's commentary on the inflation trajectory.

Also Read: US Fed meet begins today: What to expect from the Fed?

Market sentiment is also cautious ahead of the Interim Budget. Even though the Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman is not expected to make big bang announcements in the Interim Budget 2024, market participants expect the domestic market to witness some volatility on Budget Day.

Also Read: Budget 2024: How should traders prepare for Budget Day? Here's what experts say

The Nifty 50 opened at 21,775.75 against the previous close of 21,737.60 and touched its intraday low of 21,501.80. The index finally closed 216 points, or 0.99 per cent, lower at 21,522.10.

The Sensex opened at 72,000.20 against the previous close of 71,941.57 and fell over a per cent to hit its intraday low of 71,075.72. The 30-share pack closed 802 points, or 1.11 per cent, lower at 71,139.90 with only six stocks - Tata Motors, SBI, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra and TCS - in the green.

BSE Midcap also ended lower by 0.53 per cent but the BSE Smallcap index bucked the trend and ended with a gain of 0.18 per cent. During the session, the BSE Smallcap index hit its fresh all-time high of 45,213.

The overall market capitalisation of the firms listed on BSE dropped to nearly ₹375.4 lakh crore from nearly ₹377.2 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors poorer by about ₹1.8 lakh crore in a single session.

Top Nifty 50 gainers today

Shares of Tata Motors (up 2.84 per cent), BPCL (up 2.04 per cent) and Eicher Motors (up 1.05 per cent) closed as the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index.

Also Read: Tata Motors share price jumps over 5%, hits fresh 52-week high

Top Nifty 50 laggards today

Shares of Bajaj Finance (down 5.10 per cent), UltraTech Cement (down 3.10 per cent) and Titan (down 3.04 per cent) closed as the top laggards in the Nifty 50 index.

Also Read: Bajaj Finance share price cracks 5% after Q3 result; what should investors do?

As many as 37 stocks ended in the red in the Nifty 50 pack.

Sectoral indices today

The majority of indices ended with losses today. Nifty Consumer Durables (down 1.61 per cent) and FMCG (down 1.02 per cent) ended significantly. Nifty Bank ended 0.16 per cent lower.

Among the gainers Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.96 per cent.

Expert's views on Nifty 50

"Investors exhibited a reversal in strategy, adopting a cautious approach in anticipation of the upcoming FOMC meeting and Interim Budget amid persistent concerns regarding elevated valuations and escalating tensions in the Middle East. Further, the trend weakened in EMs as liquidation orders for a major Chinese real estate firm dampened the sentiment. The US Fed is anticipated to maintain a rate pause, close attention will be paid to any hints regarding a potential rate cut in May," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Technical views on Nifty 50

Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas observed that the Nifty faced resistance around 21,750 on the daily charts which coincides with the 61.82 per cent Fibonacci retracement level of the fall from 22,124 – 21,137.

"The Nifty has failed to cross that level, thus ending the counter-trend rally. The hourly and the daily momentum indicators are having a negative crossover which is a sell signal," said Gedia.

"Both price and momentum indicators are suggesting weakness. Considering the upcoming Budget during the week, the Nifty is likely to consolidate within the range 21,200 – 22,000 from a short-term perspective and a decisive close beyond this range is likely to result in trending moves in that direction," said Gedia.

Read all market-related news here

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.