Sensex falls 372 points, Nifty ends below 18,200; TCS & Infosys fall 2%; Kaynes Tech jumps 17%

Domestic equity indices extended their fall to a second straight session Wednesday as the headline peers settled sharply lower for the second straight session amid the weak global cues and debt ceiling negotiations in the US. Selling pressure in index heavyweights dragged the markets lower.

For the, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex tumbled 371.63 points, or 0.60 per cent, to close at 61,560.64, while NSE's Nifty50 index dropped 104.75 points, or 0.57 per cent, to settle at 18,181.75. Broader markets ended mixed as the BSE midcap index ended lower, while the BSE smallcap index was slightly up. Fear gauge India VIX ended at 13.11-level, falling over a per cent.

Markets lingered in negative territory as cautious investors continued to book profits after the recent spike. The subdued economic readings coming in from the US and China once again raise the concern of a slowing economy and hence recession fears, which is making investors jittery about the future course, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

"Technically, the Nifty has breached the crucial support level of 18,250 and also formed a bearish candle on daily charts which is largely negative. For traders, 18,250 and 18,300 would act as an immediate resistance area while 18,100-18,050 could be important support levels for the bulls," he said.

On a sectoral front, only Nifty Auto and FMCG indices managed to settle with gains. Nifty Media Index topped among the losers with a 2 per cent cut, while Nifty Realty Index ended with a fall of a per cent. Nifty Metal, IT and Financial Services indices were among other top laggards.

In the Nifty50 pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Apollo Hospitals, SBI Life Insurance and Tata Consultancy Services dropped 2 per cent, each, while HCL Technologies, Asian Paints and Infosys were other top laggards. Among the gainers, Hero Motocorp gained more than a per cent, followed by ITC, IndusInd Bank, UPL and Bharti Airtel.

Markets traded volatile and lost over half a percent, in continuation to Tuesday’s fall. After the flat start, the Nifty gradually drifted lower, however, rebound in the final hours helped the index to recoup some losses, said Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking.

"The majority of sectors traded in tandem with the benchmark trend and edged lower wherein realty, IT and metal were among the top losers. Interestingly, the broader indices continued their outperformance for the second consecutive session," he said.

A total of 3,625 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 1,785 settled with cuts. 1,703 stocks ended the session lower while 137 shares remained unchanged. A total of 118 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 112 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In response to weak global sentiments, domestic investors remained cautious as the US market grappled with recession concerns led by recent economic data indicating a slowdown. The US retail sales figures for April reflected a decrease in demand, and ongoing debt ceiling negotiations further dampened market sentiment, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader markets, Mukand dropped 9 per cent after the company announced a muted performance in the March 2023 quarter. LIC Housing Finance dropped more than 6 per cent on the back of profit booking and mixed brokerage reports. Oberoi Realty and Thirumalai Chemicals dropped 6 per cent, each, after Q4 results.

Among the gainers, Kaynes Technology India surged 17 per cent, while Amber Enterprises India surged 16 per cent on the back of sounder quarterly performance. Rane Madras surged 16 per cent amid the disinvestment buzz of Rane Light Metal Casting. Abans Holdings settled 14 per cent higher.
 

Also read: Adani Ports records highest-ever rail cargo in FY23; stock extends fall

Also read: MTAR Technologies shares hit 52-week high ahead of Q4 earnings