Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty fall on fag-end selloff led by bank, IT stocks; US Fed policy outcome eyed

Stock market today: Indian stock market benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty 50 closed in the negative territory on Tuesday, April 30, due to fag-end selloff amid weak global cues.

Market benchmarks opened higher and traded in the green till the final hour of the session when profit booking engulfed the market, causing key indices to enter the red zone.

Sensex closed 189 points, or 0.25 per cent, lower at 74,482.78 while the Nifty 50 closed the day at 22,604.85, down 39 points, or 0.17 per cent.

The losses in the benchmark indices were led by select banking and IT heavyweights, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys and TCS.

Weak global cues could be attributed to the selloff as market participants shift focus to the US Fed policy outcome on Wednesday and US jobs data on Thursday.

The Indian stock market is closed on Wednesday, May 1, on account of Maharashtra Day.

The Fed is expected to maintain policy rates. Still, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference is a key event as investors expect cues on what the Fed thinks about the latest macroeconomic data on growth and inflation and how interest rates would move from hereon. 

Also Read: US Fed meet ahead: What do dimming rate cut hopes mean for Indian stock market?

Mid and smallcap indices continued their upward march. The BSE Midcap index hit its fresh all-time high of 42,396.21 during the session before closing 0.49 per cent higher at 42,121.40. The BSE Smallcap index ended 0.10 per cent higher at 47,315.93.

The Sensex and the Nifty increased by a per cent each, for the month. On the other hand, the mid and smallcap spaces clocked strong gains; the BSE Midcap index rose 7 per cent while the Smallcap index jumped 10 per cent in April.

Top Nifty 50 gainers today

Some 24 stocks ended in the green in the Nifty 50 index among which Mahindra and Mahindra (up 4.75 per cent), Power Grid (up 2.77 per cent) and Shriram Finance (up 2.12 per cent) ended as the top gainers.

Top Nifty 50 losers today

Shares of Tech Mahindra (down 2 per cent), Tata Steel (down 1.58 per cent) and Dr Reddy's Labs (down 1.54 per cent) closed as the top losers in the Nifty 50 pack.

Also Read: Top Gainers and Losers today on 30 April, 2024: Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid Corporation Of India, Tech Mahindra, Bharat Petroleum Corporation among most active stocks; Check full list here

Sectoral indices today

Nifty IT, Metal, and Media lost by a per cent each. Nifty Bank and Private Bank indices ended with a nominal loss of 0.06 per cent each. Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.48 per cent.

On the other hand, Nifty Auto and Realty clocked strong gains of 1.82 per cent and 1.45 per cent respectively.

Expert views on markets

"Global markets remained mixed ahead of US Fed policy meet, as markets appear to have already factored in the slim chance of a near-term rate cut. Profit booking ensued towards a close given the sharp rally in the last couple of days and a holiday-led truncated week," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Technical views on Nifty 50

According to Shrikant Chouhan, Head -Equity Research, Kotak Securities, on daily charts, the Nifty formed a bearish candle, which indicates a strong possibility of further weakness from the current levels.

"We are of the view that the larger texture of the market is still on the positive side, but due to temporary overbought conditions, we could see further weakness in the near future. For the traders now, 22,700/74,800 would act as a key resistance zone. Below the same, the market could retest the level of 22,500-22,400/74,000-73,800. On the flip side, above 22,700/74,800 the sentiment could change. Above 22,700/74,800, the market could move up till 22,780-22,850/75,100-75,300," said Chouhan.

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