Benchmark indices closed 1.3% lower on Tuesday, mirroring weakness in global equities.
At close, the Sensex dropped 1.3%, shedding 1,018 points to settle at 76,293.60, while the Nifty declined 1.32%, losing 309.8 points to end at 23,071.80. Fresh tariff developments have fuelled caution among investors.
Notably, over the past five sessions, the 30-share Sensex has plunged 2,290 points, and the Nifty 50 has shed 667 points, marking a 2.8% decline.
The BSE MidCap index fell 2.9%, while the BSE SmallCap index plunged 3.4%.
The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies has slipped to approximately ₹408.5 lakh crore from ₹425.5 lakh crore.
The market remained volatile as the volatility index, India VIX, rose 2.94% to 14.87.
On the Nifty, top gainers included Adani Enterprises (1.35%), Grasim Industries (0.74%), Trent (0.61%), and Bharti Airtel (0.22%). On the losing side were Eicher Motors (6.80%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (6.57%), Shriram Finance (3.97%), Coal India (3.10%), and Bharat Electronics (3.07%).
Bank Nifty concluded the day at 49,981.0, with an intraday high of 49,906.75 and a low of 49,177.4.
“Technically, the market breached the 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) or 23,300/77000 support level, and post-breakdown selling pressure intensified. It also formed a long bearish candle on daily charts, which supports further weakness from current levels,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.
“We believe that the current market texture is weak but oversold; hence, level-based trading would be the ideal strategy for day traders,” he added.
Among the sectors, all ended in the red. The Nifty PSU Bank, Auto, Healthcare, Realty, and Media indices ended with losses extending up to 3.28% whereas Nifty IT, FMCG, and Consumer Durables indices declined by over 1% each.
Among the individual performers, shares of Info Edge India slipped over 3% after the value of the company’s investments in Policybazaar parent PB Fintech and food delivery aggregator Zomato took a sharp hit.
Shares of Torrent Power slipped as much as 5% to touch an intraday low of Rs 1,292 after international brokerage Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to ‘equal-weight’.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprises plunged nearly 7% amid heavy trading volumes despite the company’s better-than-expected Q3 numbers.
Market participants are also closely watching Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony and key US inflation data for further cues.
In the global markets, Europe’s Stoxx 600 index remained steady, while US equity futures edged lower and Asian stocks retreated.