7 hours ago
Following a positive start driven by strong global cues, the benchmark Nifty 50 index failed to sustain early gains and saw profit-booking at higher levels.
Choppy trade with a weak bias continued through the afternoon and into the latter part of the session. Subsequently, the Nifty closed near the day's low, falling over 150 points from its intraday high to end with a loss of 82 points at 24,380.
Markets reversed Monday's gains, with a sharp decline seen in the broader space. While the Sensex and Nifty ended with minor cuts, the Midcap index slipped more than 2%.
The Nifty Midcap 100 Index tumbled by 2.27%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 Index saw a sharp decline of 2.5%.
More than 30 Nifty stocks closed in the red, with some falling as much as 4%.
Baring the Nifty auto index, all sectoral indices ended in the red. PSU Banks, Realty, Oil & Gas, and Pharma sectors were the major losers.
Bank of Baroda’s weaker-than-expected March quarter earnings dampened sentiment across the PSU banking space. The state-owned banks took a sharp hit on Dalal Street, with all constituents of the Nifty PSU Bank index closing in the red. The gauge for public sector banks plunged 5% today, marking its steepest single-day fall since June 4, 2024.
Pharma stocks faced selling pressure after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ramp up domestic drug manufacturing.
On the global front, the US Federal Reserve began Tuesday its two-day policy meeting, with a decision scheduled for Wednesday. The central bank is expected to widely expected to keep rates steady on Wednesday, with Fed Funds futures trading suggests just a 2.7% chance of the central bank cutting rates.
According to Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal, market volatility was further aggravated by escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, coupled with uncertainty surrounding the Fed's upcoming interest rate decision.
Security drills will be held at 244 locations starting May 7 in response to the heightened India-Pakistan tensions, adding to investor cautiousness. Looking ahead, progress on the US trade deal could provide near-term support to the markets. However, ongoing geopolitical concerns and the earnings season are likely to keep investor sentiment cautious in the near term, believes Khemka.
Key earnings results scheduled for Wednesday include Coal India, United Breweries, Voltas, Blue Star, and Tata Chemicals.
Meanwhile, foreign investors continued to remain net buyers in the cash market on Tuesday, while domestic investors were net sellers.
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities believes the underlying trend of Nifty remains choppy with weak market breadth. Shetti said that any weakness below the immediate support of 24,200 could trigger short term downward correction in the market. However, a decisive move above 24,600 could negate the bearish sentiments for the near term.
"Key support lies in the 24,250–24,200 zone. Technically, a directional trend will emerge only after a decisive move above 24,500 or a close below 24,200. Until then, the index is likely to trade in a range. With the Fed outcome now released, a directional move could unfold in the upcoming sessions," said Vatsal Bhuva of LKP Securities.
According to Rajesh Bhosale of Angel One, the Nifty lacked follow-through buying post Monday's gains. Unless this resistance of 24,550–24,600, is decisively breached, the market is likely to remain in a consolidation phase. "On the downside, 24,200 acts as immediate support, while the 24,000–23,800 zone serves as a crucial positional support zone, aligned with the 200-DSMA and prior breakout levels."
Bhosale said that dips towards these levels can be seen as buying opportunities in line with the primary bullish trend.
Here are the stocks to watch ahead of Wednesday's trading session:
- BSE reported a net profit at ₹494 crore as against ₹107 crore YoY. Revenue rose 5% at ₹846.6 crore, compared to ₹484 crore YoY. The company recommended a dividend of ₹23, including special dividend of ₹5 per share.
- Godrej Consumer Products reported a consolidated net profit of ₹412 crore in the March quarter, reversing a loss of ₹1,893.2 crore in the same period last year, largely due to a steep fall in exceptional losses to ₹31.4 crore from ₹2,375.6 crore a year ago.
- Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) posted a better-than-expected set of numbers for the March quarter, with all key financial metrics—net profit, revenue, and EBITDA—beating CNBC-TV18’s poll estimates.
- GMDC signs long-term supply agreement with City Gold Pipes for supply of 150 million tonnes of limestone over 40 years from Kutch’s Lakhpat Punrajpur Mine.
