The Indian stock market closed on a defensive note today with both the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closing in marginal losses. The Sensex index broke its five-day record run, closing lower by 118.96 points i.e. 0.14% at 81,785.74, and the Nifty index lost 44.80 points i.e. 0.17% closing at 25,069.20. Market sentiment remained subtle and cautious in the wake of closely watched U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting amid mixed global signals from Asian and U.S. markets.
Top Gainers and Losers
Some of the top gainers on the Nifty 50 were UltraTech Cement gaining 0.68%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.62%, Eternal Ltd, Trent Ltd, and Adani Ports, all reporting moderate to mild gains. These shares saw some optimism amid sectoral confusion.
However, the losing stocks today on the index were Shriram Finance, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Cipla, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, all of which hadf losing ground. The fall in IT and pharma stocks played an important role in negative market bias.
Sectoral Performance
Sector-wise, the performance was mixed. Realty, Power, capital goods, and Telecom sectors closed with slight gains between 0.5% to 2.5%, providing some support to the benchmark indices. PSU banking and energy sectors also gained moderately.
But sectors such as IT, pharma, healthcare, auto, consumer durables, FMCG, and Oil-gas saw declines of between 0.3% to 0.6%. The slowdown in IT and healthcare sectors pulled the market sentiment down due to fears of global demand weakness and regulatory risks.
Wider Performance across Market Range and Other Highlights
The market range performance remained marginally positive, with approximately 2,052 stocks gaining, 1,756 falling, and 163 remaining flat on the NSE. The BSE Mid-cap index went up by 0.4%, and the small-cap index gained 0.7%, reflecting some buying interest in mid- and small-caps despite the overall skittish mood. The Indian rupee closed stronger at 88.21 against the US dollar from Friday’s 88.27, which provided some relief to import-intensive sectors.
Outlook
Market players continue to keep an eye on the U.S. Federal Reserve announcement expecting rate hikes, which would be the determining factor to drive markets in short-term. Furthermore, traders are keenly monitoring domestic issues like GST rationalisation negotiations and trends in global trade affecting key sectors.
Overall, stock market today witnessed the Indian stock indices facing gentle selling pressure with sectoral mixed trends, leaders being cement and finance, while IT and pharma suffered significant losses, creating a tentative tone for future sessions.
