NEW DELHI: The stock market extended the losses to the fourth session on Wednesday and ended marginally lower in the highly volatile session. At close, the Sensex was down 28.21 points or 0.04% at 75,939.18, and the Nifty was down 12.40 points or 0.05% at 22,932.90.
Nifty 50 recovered 118 points during the day, marking a minor decline of 0.05% at close compared to the previous close. Sensex gained 357 points from its low and ended the session with a marginal loss of 0.04%.
Nifty Midcap 100 concluded the session with a gain of 1.56%, settling at 50,527, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index finished at 15,525, gaining 2.36% compared to Tuesday’s closing level.
Over 380 stocks touched their 52-week low on the BSE. These included Natco Pharma, Zydus Life, Timken India, Grindwell Norto, Carborundum Universal, Aether Industries, Star Health, Kirloskar Oil, Can Fin Homes, PVR INox, Mahindra Life, Sun Pharma Advanced, Ratnamani Metal, Kajaria Ceramic, Godrej Consumer, KNR Construction, Central Bank, Elgi Equipments, Sonata Software, among others.
On the Nifty index, the top gainers were Bharat Electronics (3.60%), Hindalco Industries (2.43%), Eicher Motors (1.93%), Larsen & Toubro (1.73%), and Axis Bank (1.73%).
The top losers were Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (2.63%), Tata Consultancy Services (2.30%), Infosys (2.22%), Hindustan Unilever (1.99%), and Adani Enterprises (1.78%).
The Bank Nifty closed at 49087.3, reaching an intraday high of 49628.25 and a low of 48804.0.
Among the sectors, IT, Auto, Healthcare, Pharma, and FMCG indices ended in the red, with the Nifty IT index being the top laggard, which ended down 1.30%. The index was dragged by Persistent Systems, and Cofoge.
The IT stocks witnessed selling pressure in today’s trade after French IT consulting firm Capgemini reported a weaker-than-expected financial performance for the full year 2024.
The Pharma stocks tumbled after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on drug imports.
Nifty Realty index jumped 1.67%, followed by Nifty Media with a gain of 1.33%. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal also ended the session with gains of 1.33% and 1.25%, respectively.
Defence stocks also saw a sharp rebound as investors eye FDI policy boost in the sector.
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) shares experienced a significant surge of nearly 11%, snapping its three-day losing streak.
The shares of Swiggy surged 7% in trade after international brokerage CLSA said the food delivery player, along with rival Zomato, were among its top ideas for the long-term.
TVS Motor Company’s shares continued their downward trajectory, lipping over a percent to Rs 2,330 in early trading.
Investors’ focus is now shifting to the Federal Reserve’s January meeting minutes for clues on how policymakers view the growing risk of a broader trade war on the economy.
Agencies