Stock Market Highlights: Nifty, Sensex Close Lower As Bharti Airtel, HDFC Life Drag
The NSE Nifty 50 ended 120.85 points, or 0.47% lower at 25,355.25, while the BSE Sensex closed 345.80 points, or 0.41% down at 83,190.28.
The Indian benchmark equity indices continued to fall for a second session on Thursday, dragged by share prices of Bharti Airtel Ltd., and HDFC Life Insurance Co.
The NSE Nifty 50 ended 120.85 points, or 0.47% lower at 25,355.25, while the BSE Sensex closed 345.80 points, or 0.41% down at 83,190.28. During the day, Nifty fell 0.53% to trade at 25,340.45 and Sensex declined 0.48% to 83,134.97.
Technically, a small bearish candle on the daily chart and non-directional activity on the intraday chart indicate indecision between the bulls and bears, according to Shrikant Chouhan, head equity research, Kotak Securities. "We believe the current market structure is non-directional; perhaps traders are waiting for a breakout on either side," he said.
Chouhan highlighted for the bulls, the breakout zones for day traders are 25,550. Above these levels, the market could rise to 25,650-25,725.
"On the other hand, a breakout of 25,400 could increase the selling pressure. Below these levels, the market may retest the levels of 25,300. The decline may continue further, possibly taking the market to 25,200-25,175," he said.
Shares of IndusInd Bank Ltd., Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd. and Jio Finance were among the top gainers in the Nifty 50.
Bharti Airtel Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. and Shriram Finance Ltd. were among the biggest laggards.
In terms of points contribution, Maruti Suzuki Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., and IndusInd Bank Ltd. were among the stocks that led the gains in the Nifty.
Bharti Airtel Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and HDFC Bank Ltd. dragged the index the most.
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On the NSE, 13 out of 15 sectors ended in the red, with Nifty Defence and Nifty Bank declining the most.
While, Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty were the only two sectors that ended in green.
The broader market indices settled mixed, as the BSE MidCap fell 0.28% and SmallCap gained 0.12%.
The market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers, as 1,967 stocks advanced, 2,049 declined and 145 remained unchanged on the BSE.
