Investors are now closely watching developments on the trade front between India and the US, corporate earnings season cues, and global macroeconomic signals. With persistent FII selling and sector-specific rotation, markets may remain choppy in the short term.
AMN / BIZ DESK
Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Thursday after a volatile trading session, weighed down by selling pressure in PSU banks and financial stocks, despite early optimism driven by hopes of a potential US-India trade deal. Caution persisted among investors amid sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and global market uncertainty.
The BSE Sensex opened on a positive note and touched an intraday high of 83,850, but failed to hold gains in the final hour. It eventually settled down 170.22 points, or 0.2%, at 83,239.7. Similarly, the NSE Nifty50 fell 48.1 points, or 0.19%, to close at 25,405.3.
Broader Market Performance
In the broader markets:
- The Nifty Midcap100 index ended flat with a slight positive bias.
- The Nifty Smallcap100 slipped 0.26%, reflecting weakness in smaller stocks.
Sectoral Snapshot: PSU Banks Under Pressure
Selling was most pronounced in the Nifty PSU Bank index, which emerged as the worst-performing sector, falling 0.89%. Key draggers included:
- Punjab National Bank
- Union Bank of India
- UCO Bank
- Central Bank of India
Other lagging sectors included:
- Nifty Metal
- Realty
- Bank
- Financial Services
On the brighter side, selective buying lifted:
- Nifty Media
- Auto
- Pharma
- Healthcare
- Consumer Durables
- Oil & Gas
- FMCG
These sectors helped limit the market’s downside.
Stock Movers: Sensex Constituents
Out of the 30 stocks on the Sensex, 19 closed in the red. Top laggards included:
- Kotak Mahindra Bank
- Bajaj Finserv
- Bajaj Finance
- Adani Ports
- Trent
- State Bank of India
Meanwhile, some counters saw notable buying interest. The top gainers were:
- Maruti Suzuki
- Infosys
- NTPC
- Asian Paints
- Hindustan Unilever
- Eternal
Volatility Eases Slightly
The India VIX, a key indicator of market volatility, cooled off by 0.48%, ending the session at 12.38. This suggests that despite the late sell-off, broader market sentiment remained relatively stable.