Stock market closing: Sensex drops 636 pts, Nifty ends below 24,550 amid weak global cues, foreign fund outflows
Indian benchmark indices closed in the red on Tuesday, dragged by losses in financials, IT and metal stocks, amid weak global cues, rising geopolitical tensions and continued foreign fund outflows.
The
BSE
Sensex closed at 80,737.51, down 636.24 points or 0.78% from its Monday close of 81,373.75, with only one stock ending in the green and 23 stocks registering declines of over 1%. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark Nifty 50 slipped 174.10 points or 0.70% to close at 24,542.50. Over 43 of its constituent stocks ended in the red, with Adani group companies —
Adani Ports
and
Adani Enterprises
— falling 2.32% and 1.89%, respectively, from their previous close.
Among Nifty gainers,
Grasim Industries
led the pack, up 1.28%, followed by
Shriram Finance
,
Bajaj Auto
,
Mahindra & Mahindra
, and
Cipla
. Grasim saw strong volumes, with over 15 lakh shares traded, amounting to a turnover of ₹380.09 crore. On the flip side, Adani Ports,
Bajaj Finserv
, Adani Enterprises,
Coal India
, and
Power Grid
were among the top drags on the index.
“Markets edged lower in a volatile trading session, losing over half a percent amid weak cues. After an initial uptick, the Nifty oscillated sharply in early trade; however, a sharp decline below the short-term moving average (20 DEMA) in the latter half of the session kept the tone negative. Eventually, it closed near the day’s low at the 24,539 level,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
The sell-off intensified particularly in the afternoon trade, with the Sensex tumbling as much as 800 points to an intraday low of 80,575.09. Weak cues from global markets, coupled with a cautious mood ahead of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision later this week, weighed heavily on investor sentiment. Analysts are factoring in the possibility of a 25-basis point rate cut as the central bank began its three-day policy meeting on Tuesday.
Broader markets showed a mixed performance. The BSE Midcap index slipped around 0.5%, while the Smallcap index ended almost flat, reflecting investor caution in the broader space.
On the sectoral front, most key indices ended lower, with pressure seen across banking, financials, IT, oil & gas, power, and consumer durables. The Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Capital Goods, and Oil & Gas indices declined between 0.5% and 1%, reflecting broad-based selling. Energy, financials, and IT were among the worst-hit sectors. In contrast, the Realty and Media indices bucked the trend, rising nearly 1% each on the NSE, supported by stock-specific buying.
Persistent foreign institutional selling, weak global sentiment, and rising geopolitical risks continued to weigh on the market mood.
“Profit booking is evident across sectors, except for real estate stocks, supported by expectations of an interest rate cut by the RBI. Mid- and small-cap stocks are experiencing relatively less consolidation than large caps due to better earnings growth & moderation in premium valuation. While short-term consolidation is likely to persist, strong domestic oriented players are estimated to provide outperformance against external volatility,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, rising Covid-19 cases, firm crude oil prices and uncertainty around US-China trade relations added to market jitters. Analysts expect the market to remain volatile in the near term, with domestic liquidity and retail participation likely cushioning any deeper correction.
“Notably, the Nifty has decisively breached its short-term support zone (20 DEMA) for the first time in nearly one and a half months, which may lead to further downside toward the 24,200–24,400 zone. However, the relatively stronger performance in the banking space could help limit the pace of decline. We recommend maintaining caution in stock selection and trade management in the current environment,” Mishra added.
The rupee weakened by 16 paise to 85.53 against the US dollar, pressured by a firming dollar index nearing the 99 mark and sustained selling in domestic equity markets.
“Key data lined up this week, including heightened US dollar volatility and the RBI policy on Friday where expectations of a rate cut are high will keep the rupee under pressure. The expected trading range for the rupee is seen between 85.25 and 85.85,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities.