Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty 50 wipe out early gains, end lower for 7th straight session; pharma stocks shine

Indian Stock Market: The Indian frontline indices closed lower for the seventh consecutive session on Thursday, February 13, as early gains were wiped off amid mid-session selling, dragging both the Nifty 50 and Sensex into the red. However, the intensity of selling pressure was lower over the past two trading sessions.

Inflation in India cooled more than expected in January, but a hotter-than-anticipated January inflation print in the U.S. dashed market hopes of multiple rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2025, weighing on investor sentiment during the session. Escalating global trade tensions have added to concerns, with investors wary that India could be targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for potential reciprocal tariffs. The Trump administration has complained that India has high tariffs that lockout US imports.

Amid this, the Nifty 50 ended the session with a minor drop of 0.06% at 23,031, while the Sensex closed at 76,138, down 0.04% compared to Wednesday's close. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell by 0.37% to 15,973. However, the Nifty Midcap 100 index ended the day with a gain of 0.25%, closing at 50,881.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Pharma emerged as the top performer, gaining 1.35%, with 15 out of 20 constituents ending the session in the green. Realty stocks also bounced back strongly during the session, causing the Nifty Realty index to snap its six-day losing streak and end the session with a gain of 0.81%.

Other sectoral indices, such as Nifty Media, Nifty PSE, Nifty Metal, and Nifty CPSE, all ended in the green with gains ranging between 0.26% and 0.86%.

Commenting on the today's market performance, Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, "Despite initial market optimism driven by easing domestic inflation data, the rally lost momentum amid uncertain global cues and subdued corporate earnings. Furthermore, a surge in Chinese technology stocks, fuelled by heightened interest in artificial intelligence, redirected FIIs in pursuit of more attractive returns. Market participants are now closely monitoring the outcome of the Trump-Modi discussions for any trade and tariff concessions for a potential pullback rally."

FPIs dump stocks worth ₹22,000 crore in Feb

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continue to withdraw billions of rupees from the Indian stock market as they aggressively offload Indian shares on exchanges with each passing day. In the previous trading session, they pulled out another ₹4,969 crore, taking their total selling in February to ₹22,098 crore, according to Trendlyne data.

Both domestic and global factors are impacting FPI sentiment. On the domestic front, modest Q3 earnings, stretched valuations, and a slowing economy are weighing on investor confidence. Globally, Donald Trump’s tariff threats and the US Federal Reserve’s pause in the rate cut cycle have boosted US bond yields, making US assets more appealing.

The 10-year Treasury yield jumped more than 9 basis points to 4.633% on Wednesday after the US Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% in January, bringing the annual inflation rate to 3.0%. This increase in yields could drive investors toward fixed-income assets with coupons instead of riskier equities.

The uptick in inflation comes at a time when Donald Trump wants borrowing costs to be lower.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities, said, "As FIIs continued to maintain their sell stand, the market is beginning to get more volatile with investors booking profit in select frontliners. Weakness in select banking, auto, IT and FMCG stocks dragged key benchmark indices, which had clocked significant gains in early trades."

Technical Outlook

Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates said, "The Nifty index opened on a positive note, maintained buying interest in the first half, but later witnessed profit booking and finally settled on a flat to negative note at 23,031. The volatility index, India VIX, cooled off from 15.47 levels but still settled slightly higher by 0.40% at 14.96."

"Technically speaking, Nifty on a daily scale has formed a small red candle with a long upper shadow, indicating selling pressure at higher levels. The 21-Days Simple Moving Average (DSMA) is placed at 23,270, making the 23,270-23,300 zone a strong hurdle. On the downside, 22,780 will act as a key support level. As long as the index holds 22,780, a buy-on-dips strategy is advisable," Hrishikesh added.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.