Indian Stock Market Ends Lower After 3-Day Gains, Nifty Below 23,250
India's domestic benchmark indices ended lower on Friday, as selling pressure was seen in the IT and financial services sectors.
Mumbai: India’s domestic benchmark indices ended lower on Friday, as selling pressure was seen in the IT and financial services sectors.
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The Sensex fell by 423.49 points or 0.55 percent, closing at 76,619.33, while the Nifty dropped by 108.60 points or 0.47 percent, ending at 23,203.2.
Bearish Sentiment Continues in Nifty
The Nifty remained under bearish pressure for another session, with sentiment continuing to be weak. Experts indicated that the index faced resistance at a crucial moving average, leading to its decline. Rupak De of LKP Securities stated, “This bearish sentiment may persist in the short term, or as long as the index remains below 23,400. On the downside, it could drift toward 23,000. A decisive break below 23,000 might trigger a broader market correction. Conversely, 23,400 is likely to remain a strong resistance level.”
Nifty Shows Significant Decline Since September 2024
Since the recent peak in September 2024, the Nifty 50 has fallen by 11.5 percent. Both the Midcap and Smallcap indices have also seen declines, with the Midcap index down by 12 percent and the Smallcap index falling by 11 percent. Krishna Appala of Capitalmind Research noted, “The decline has steepened over the past week, but the real story lies beneath these numbers. Many individual stocks are down by 25-40 percent, reflecting the broader pain that major indices often mask.”
Nifty Bank and Other Indices
The Nifty Bank ended at 49,540.6, down by 738.10 points or 1.50 percent. Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 54,607.65, gaining 123.85 points, or 0.23 percent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended at 17,672.05, adding 28.75 points, or 0.16 percent.
BSE Market Performance
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,055 shares ended in the green, while 1,887 shares closed in the red. There was no change in 123 shares.
Also Read: Indian Stock Market Ends Higher, Adani Ports Among Top Gainers
Top Gainers and Losers in the Sensex Pack
Among the top gainers in the Sensex pack were Zomato, Nestle India, Asian Paints, Power Grid, Tata Steel, L&T, ITC, Sun Pharma, Titan, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Maruti Suzuki, and NTPC. On the other hand, the top losers included Infosys, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, M&M, ICICI Bank, TCS, and Tech Mahindra.
Foreign and Domestic Institutional Investors’ Activity
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,341.95 crore on January 16. In contrast, domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,928.72 crore on the same day.
