Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty resume downward march; HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank top drags
The Nifty 50 fell 169 points to 23,644.90, while the Sensex dropped 451 points to 78,248.13. Banking stocks led losses amid weak global cues, with the Nifty Bank index down 0.70%. The BSE Midcap index gained slightly, but Smallcap fell 0.47%.
Stock market today: Snapping its two-day winning run, the Indian stock market's benchmark index, the Nifty 50, closed almost a per cent lower on Monday, December 30, on losses led by banking heavyweights, including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank amid weak global cues. Stock market sentiment worldwide appears fragile as the year draws to a close, aided by a strengthening US dollar and rising bond yields.
Investors are holding their bets for riskier equities amid prevailing uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump's tariff policies. US President-elect Donald Trump will join office on January 20. According to experts, Trump's policies on trade could significantly impact the dollar-rupee dynamics, foreign capital flow into India, and the US Federal Reserve's fight against inflation.
The Nifty 50 closed with a loss of 169 points, or 0.71 per cent, at 23,644.90, while the Sensex settled at 78,248.13, down 451 points, or 0.57 per cent.
As many as 38 stocks ended in the red in the Nifty 50 index.
Shares of HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries and Tata Motors ended as the top drags on the Nifty index.
The BSE Midcap index climbed 0.13 per cent, but the Smallcap index fell 0.47 per cent.
“Markets lost momentum in the second half and fell sharply thereafter as weak Asian and European cues coupled with nervousness over falling rupee and renewed foreign fund flows prompted investors to reduce equity holdings. We suspect rising US bond yields are likely to be the biggest negative catalyst going forward, with the US 10-year US bonds yields spiking to 4.61 per cent, the highest in seven months,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities, observed.
Sectoral indices today
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Media (down 1.87 per cent), Realty (down 1.54 per cent), Auto (down 1.43 per cent) and Metal (down 1.27 per cent) lost up to 2 per cent.
All banking and financial indices suffered. Nifty Bank index dropped 0.70 per cent, while the PSU Bank and Private Bank indices fell 1.18 per cent and 0.63 per cent, respectively. The Nifty Financial Services index fell by almost a per cent.
On the flip side, Nifty Healthcare and Pharma indices rose by over a per cent.
"Prevailing subdued sentiment on account of FIIs selling and a strengthening dollar continued to drag the market. While IT & pharma gained as investors continued to bet on defensive stocks to prevent short-term volatility. Concerns over high valuation are impacting the broad market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Nifty 50 outlook
Ajit Mishra, SVP of research at Religare Broking, observed that the Nifty 50 is struggling to sustain above its long-term support zone, the 200-day exponential moving average (DEMA).
Mishra said today’s decline signals the potential for further downside, with a decisive break below 23,500 likely to confirm this trend, setting the next target at 23,250.
According to Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, on the daily chart, the index has slipped below its recent consolidation. It continues to trade below the 200-DMA, indicating weak sentiment.
"The overall outlook remains negative for the short term, with potential downside risks. On the lower end, support is seen at 23,400, while resistance is expected around 23,870 in the near term," said De.
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