Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty Close At Over Two-Week Low As HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank Drag
The Nifty closed at 22,277.85, down 241.55 points or 1.07% and the Sensex closed at 73,399.78, lower by 845.12 points or 1.14%.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Indian Rupee Records Its Lowest Ever Close Against The U.S. Dollar
Sensex, Nifty Close At Over Two-Week Low As HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank Drag: Closing Bell
India's Trade Deficit Narrows To 11-Month Low At $15.6 Billion in March
IMD Forecasts ‘Above Normal’ South West Monsoon For 2024
Nifty IT Falls Nearly 2% With All Constituents In Red
FPIs Stay Net Sellers
Overseas investors stayed sellers on Monday for the second consecutive day.
Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 3,268 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange. The sell off comes at a time when the benchmark indices fell due to uncertainty over the Middle East and caution over quarterly earnings.
Domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for the fifth day and mopped up equities worth Rs 4,762.93 crore, the NSE data showed.
Foreign institutions have been net buyers of Rs 16,301 crore worth of Indian equities so far in 2024, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd., updated till the previous trading day.
Indian Rupee Records Its Lowest Ever Close Against The U.S. Dollar
The local currency weakened by 3 paise to close at 83.45 against the U.S. Dollar.
It closed at 83.42 a dollar on Friday.
Source: Bloomberg
Sensex, Nifty Close At Over Two-Week Low As HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank Drag: Closing Bell
Benchmark equity indices fell in the second session today and marked their lowest close since the start of this month amid uncertainty over middle-east tensions and quarterly earnings.
The Nifty closed at 22,277.85, down 241.55 points or 1.07% and the Sensex closed at 73,399.78, lower by 845.12 points or 1.14%.
"Short-term sentiment appears bearish, although a significant decline isn't anticipated at present," said Rupak De, senior technical analyst, LKP Securities. "Instead, the index is likely to fluctuate between 22200 and 22400. Sellers are expected to persist as long as the index remains below the 22400 mark."
Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Infosys Ltd., and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd dragged the Nifty.
Meanwhile, those of Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Maruti Suzuki Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Nestle India Ltd. cushioned the fall.
All NSE sectors ended lower except Nifty Oil & Gas.
Broader markets were trading lower on BSE. The S&P BSE Midcap index settled 1.50% lower, and the S&P BSE Smallcap ended 1.54% down.
On BSE, 18 sectors declined and two advanced out of 20. The S&P BSE Services declined the most, and the S&P BSE Oil and Gas emerged as the top performer.
Market breadth was skewed in favour of sellers. Around 2,984 stocks declined, 917 stocks rose, and 148 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.
India's Trade Deficit Narrows To 11-Month Low At $15.6 Billion in March
In absolute terms, the trade gap widened to $15.6 billion in March compared to $18.7 billion in February, according to a press briefing by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Exports fell 0.7% annually to $41.7 billion.
Imports fell 6% annually to $57.3 billion.
Exports rose 0.7% month-on-month from February.
Imports fell 4.7% month-on-month from February.
Read here.
IMD Forecasts ‘Above Normal’ South West Monsoon For 2024
India is likely to witness 'above normal' South-Western monsoon in 2024, according to Indian Meteorological Department. South West monsoons is forecasted at 106% of the long period average. Most conditions are favourable for monsoons, IMD said in a press release on Monday.
Read more here
