Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty 50 end in the red on profit booking amid weak global cues

Stock market today: Frontline indices, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, ended with losses on Friday, June 21, mirroring weak global sentiment after the US dollar hit a multi-week high level.

Nifty 50 hit its record high of 23,667.10 soon after opening but failed to hold gains due to the lack of fresh triggers. Profit booking in most sectors kept the benchmark index down, while weak global cues also weighed on sentiment.

Top European markets, including the UK's FTSE, France's CAC 40, and Germany's DAX, fell up to a per cent in trade. Reports of an escalation in trade tensions between the European Union and China also negatively influenced market sentiment.

According to a Reuters report, China's commerce ministry on Friday accused the European Union of foul play after a proposed tariff of up to 38.1 per cent on electric vehicle imports from China.

Sensex closed 269 points, or 0.35 per cent, lower at 77,209.90, while the Nifty 50 closed with a loss of 66 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 23,501.10.

Shares of Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank ended as the top drags on the Nifty 50 index.

“Investors partially booked profit owing to weak global cues. While the fall was more severe in the mid-session, markets pared losses towards the end to close marginally lower amid weakness in banking, auto, oil and realty shares," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

"The big event is the Union Budget in July, and investors are pinning hopes on a market-friendly Budget that would have a road map on measures to boost economic activity and prop up the investment cycle,” said Tapse.

Even though the market's medium—to long-term outlook remains positive, investors are booking profits at higher levels due to the lack of fresh triggers. The Indian stock market seems to have discounted most positives and now awaits the upcoming Budget and macroeconomic prints to get a cue about the economy's course.

The BSE Midcap index fell 0.26 per cent, following the trend of the largecaps. However, the Smallcap index ended with a nominal gain of 0.06 per cent.

The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly ₹434.5 lakh crore from nearly ₹435.7 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors poorer by about ₹1.2 lakh crore in a single session.

Top Nifty 50 gainers today

18 stocks ended in the green in the Nifty 50 index, among which Bharti Airtel (up 1.64 per cent), LTIMindtree (up 1.38 per cent) and Hindalco (up 1.11 per cent) ended as the top gainers.

Top Nifty 50 losers today

Shares of UltraTech Cement (down 2.42 per cent), Adani Enterprises (down 2.04 per cent) and Larsen & Toubro (down 1.96 per cent) ended as the top losers in the index.

Sectoral indices today

Nifty Media (up 0.95 per cent), IT (up 0.76 per cent), Consumer Durables (up 0.75 per cent) and Metal (up 0.40 per cent) ended in the green.

Among the losers, Nifty FMCG (down 1.20 per cent), PSU Bank (down 1.14 per cent) and Oil & Gas (down 1.07 per cent) lost big.

Nifty Bank index fell 0.24 per cent, while the Private Bank index ended 0.15 per cent lower.

Expert views on markets

Vinod Nair, the head of research at Geojit Financial Services, pointed out that the domestic market witnessed minor profit booking amid concerns over the slow progress of the monsoon, resulting in underperformance in the FMCG sector. The heatwave in Northern India is driving consumer durables stocks up.

Moreover, Nair observed that the global markets were subdued as weak guidance from Accenture led to profit booking in US tech stocks. Conversely, domestic IT stocks saw buying interest as market participants appeared to have factored in weaker earnings.

"Attention is now focused on the upcoming GST meeting, where the potential rationalization of GST rates in certain sectors is under discussion," said Nair.

Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking, pointed out that the Nifty 50 has been struggling to maintain levels above 23,600, although it remains steady above the support zone indicated by moving averages.

"We recommend focusing on selective stock picking during this period and using it as an opportunity to accumulate high-quality stocks. Besides domestic factors, global market performance will also be closely watched in the absence of any major events," said Mishra.

Technical views on Nifty 50

"Nifty has been hovering within the 23,300 to 23,600 range, indicating indecisiveness, which sets the stage for a volatile monthly expiry. A decisive move above 23,600 might take the index towards 24,000 in the short term, whereas failure to hold above 23,300 might trigger panic in the market. Below 23,300, the Nifty might fall towards 22,750 in the short term," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities.

Read all market-related news here

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts, and brokerage firms, not Mint. We advise investors to consult certified experts before making any investment decisions.