The stock market ended off highs after the selloff extended in late trade to end little changed on Tuesday during a volatile session.
At close, the Sensex was up 147.71 points or 0.20% at 74,602.12, while the Nifty 50 closed lower for the sixth session in a row at 22,547.55.
Broader indices underperformed as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap closed 0.57% and 0.45% lower.
The Midcap index underperformed compared to the Nifty 50, with the Nifty Midcap 50 closing down by 0.57%. Similarly, small-cap stocks lagged behind the Nifty 50, as evidenced by the Nifty Small Cap 100, which ended at 15,477.3, down by 68.7 points, representing a decline of 0.44%.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto, FMCG, Select Financial Services, Media, and Consumer Durables indices settled with gains of up to 0.84 per cent. On the flip side, Nifty Metal, PSU Bank, IT, Realty, and Oil & Gas indices ended in the red, with losses of up to 1.54%.
Hindalco, Nalco, and Vedanta experienced declines for the second consecutive session, with the Nifty Metal index dropping 1.2%.
The gainers on the Nifty index included Mahindra & Mahindra (2.53%), Bharti Airtel (2.50%), Bajaj Finance (1.60%), Nestle India (1.35%), and Bajaj Finserv (0.93%).
On the losing side were Hindalco Industries (3.50%), Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (3.13%), Trent (2.09%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (1.58%), and Hero Motocorp (1.46%).
The Bank Nifty concluded at 48,651.95 after achieving an intraday high of 48,862.15 and a low of 48,534.15.
Shares of Tata Investment surged by 8% after the Tata Capital board approved an IPO, which is seen as a positive development for the company.
Zomato’s stock rose by 1% after Bernstein maintained its ‘outperform’ rating with a target price of Rs 310 per share, indicating an upside of 39%.
Nestle stock gained over 1% after managing director Suresh Narayanan revealed that the company might consider small price hikes.
M&M shares rebounded with a 4% rise after a sharp decline the previous week when it experienced its biggest single-day drop in nearly seven months.
IREDA stock rallied 4% after securing shareholder approval to raise Rs 5,000 crore through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP).
NMDC’s stock fell nearly 2% in intraday trade on February 25, marking its second consecutive decline.
Weak global cues, the rupee’s weakness, and concerns over growth losing steam are the primary reasons behind the ongoing correction in the market.
The Indian equity markets will remain closed on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, on account of Maha Shivaratri.