Sensex, Nifty Drop As Reliance, Bajaj Finance Drag: Midday Market Update
As of 12.05 p.m., the Sensex fell 200 points or 0.30% to 65,595.03, while the Nifty 50 declined 50 points or 0.25% to 19,681.70.
India's benchmark stock indices fell through midday on Monday after swinging between gains and losses during trade dragged by auto stocks while shares of information technology and pharma advanced.
As of 12:05 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex fell 200 points or 0.30% to 65,595.03, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 50 points or 0.25% to 19,681.70.
The Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 0.57% to hit an all-time high of 13,051.25 during the day, while the Nifty Midcap 150 was volatile after scaling a record high at 15,654.40. The Nifty Pharma also hit a life-high by rising 0.93% to 15,950.80 during the day.
"Below 19,500, Nifty could fall to 19,400 or 19,300. Above 19,875, it would move towards 20,225 with a major hurdle at 20,050," Shrikant Chouhan, head equity research, Kotak Securities Ltd., said.
"On the higher side, crossover of 19,850 will give a sharp up move in broader markets, while on the downside, support is placed at 19,550–19,600," Vikas Jain, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities Ltd., said.
Asian stocks were mixed fuelled by the waning bet that the Federal Reserve would end its hiking cycle. Japanese shares declined after hitting a 33-year high, while shares rose over 1.6% in Hong Kong and rose in Australian, South Korea and China.
On Friday, the S&P 500 inched above 4,500 to notch its third straight week of gains—the longest run since July.
Divi's Laboratories Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Hindalco Industries Ltd. were positively adding to the Nifty.
Reliance Industries Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. were weighing on the index.
The broader markets outperformed their major peers, with the S&P BSE Midcap rising 0.12% and the S&P BSE Smallcap gaining 0.34% through midday trade on Monday.
Thirteen out of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE Ltd. declined, while seven sectors advanced. Healthcare rose the most and auto fell the most, while Realty pared gains to trade flat.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. About 1,922 stocks rose, 1,726 declined, and 193 remained unchanged on the BSE.
