Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Close Lower As Banks, IT Stocks Drag; FPIs Turn Net Buyers

Overseas investors turned net buyers of Indian equities on Tuesday.

Foreign portfolio investors bought stocks worth Rs 1,602.2 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors turned net sellers and sold equities worth Rs 1,959 crore, the NSE data showed.

India received the highest-ever foreign portfolio inflows in 2023 and surpassed emerging market peers amid global volatility and valuation concerns.

The yield on the 10-year bond closed flat at 7.21% on Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency weakened 8 paise to close at 83.32 against the U.S dollar on Tuesday.

• It closed at 83.24 on Monday.

Source: Bloomberg

Benchmark indices closed lower today due to losses in information technology and banking stocks.

The Nifty 50 closed below 21,700 for the first time in the last three sessions and the Sensex closed below 72,000 after four sessions. Nifty 50 ended at 21,665.80, down 76.10 points or 0.35% while Sensex lost 379.46 points or 0.53% to end at 71,892.48.

"A bearish candle has emerged on the daily Nifty chart, indicating a potential bearish trend in the near future," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities adding that the sentiment is expected to stay bearish as long as it remains below 21750. "Any upward movement toward 21750 could encounter selling pressure. However, a clear breakout above 21750 could shift sentiment in favor of the bulls. Support is established at 21500 on the lower end."

On Bank Nifty, Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities said, "To resume the upward trend and regain positive momentum, the index needs to achieve a breakout above the resistance at 48300, targeting levels of 49000/50000."

He added, "The immediate support for the index is positioned at 47600, coinciding with its 20-day moving average (20DMA). A decisive breach below this level could intensify the downward momentum."

Shares of ICICI Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. contributed the most to the decline.

Those of Reliance Industries Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Coal India Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and ITC Ltd., cushioned today's fall.

Sectoral indices were mixed at closing with Nifty Pharma ending more than 2% higher. Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty, and Nifty IT ended over 1% lower.

The broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Smallcap Index fell 0.02%, whereas S&P BSE MidCap Index was 0.08% lower. Around 14 out of 20 sectors compiled by BSE  declined, while six advanced. S&P BSE Capital Goods and Auto sectors declined the most among sectoral indices.

The market breadth was split between buyers and sellers. About 1,991 stocks advanced, 1812 declined, and 126 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd's scrip rose as much as 3.34% on Tuesday as it said to the exchanges, its cargo volumes grew 42% on year to 35.65 MMT in December 2023.

The company's annual cargo volume grew 23% on an annualised basis to 311 MMT in nine months of FY24.

Scrips of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd rose as much as 3.34% to Rs 1,082.90 apiece, the highest level since Dec 20, 2023. It was trading 3.16% higher at Rs 1,080.95 apiece, as of 2:55 p.m. This compares to a 0.35% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 5.32% on a year-to-date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.6 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 70.15, which implied the stock is overbought.

Out of 21 analysts tracking the company, 19 maintain a 'buy' rating, two recommend a 'hold,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an downside of 8.1%.