The Indian stock market ended in the negative territory for the second consecutive session on Friday, July 18, as investors continued trimming exposure to equities amid unimpressive earnings, stretched market valuation and persisting tariff-related uncertainties.
The Sensex lost 502 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 81,757.73, while the Nifty 50 settled at 24,968.40, down 143 points, or 0.57 per cent. The BSE Midcap index ended 0.62 per cent lower, and the Smallcap index dropped 0.64 per cent.
The cumulative market capitalisation of the firms listed on the BSE dropped to over ₹458 lakh crore from nearly ₹461 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors poorer by almost ₹3 lakh crore in a single session.
Indian stock market: 10 key highlights from the day
1. Why did the Sensex, Nifty end lower?
Weak start of Q1 earnings, elevated valuations and foreign capital outflow are among the key factors keeping the market down.
Lingering uncertainty over an India-US trade deal is also among key factors behind the market’s downtrend.
“A broad-based sell-off was observed in the national market amidst a disappointing initial set of earnings from the finance and IT sectors. Elevated valuations in large-cap stocks, coupled with significant net short positions held by FIIs, have contributed to a cautious sentiment among investors. Additional tariff threats are also casting a shadow on India over its trade relationship with Russia,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
2. Top gainers in the Nifty 50 index
Wipro (up 2.21 per cent), Bajaj Finance (up 1.97 per cent), and Tata Steel (up 1.63 per cent) closed as the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index.
3. Top losers in the Nifty 50 index
Some 33 stocks ended in the red in the Nifty 50 index, among which, Axis Bank (down 5.27 per cent), Shriram Finance (down 3.06 per cent) and BEL (down 2.38 per cent) ended as the top losers in the index.
4. Sectoral indices today
All sectoral indices ended in the negative, except for the Nifty Media and Metal indices, which rose 0.96 per cent and 0.37 per cent, respectively, and the Nifty IT, which ended flat.
Nifty Bank and Financial Services indices dropped almost 1 per cent each, while the Private Bank index crashed 1.46 per cent. The PSU Bank index slipped 0.66 per cent.
5. Most active stocks in terms of volume
Vodafone Idea (28.52 crore shares), Jaiprakash Power Ventures (19.19 crore shares), and GTL Infrastructure (11.33 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume on the NSE.
6. Seven stocks jump over 10% on NSE
Astec LifeSciences-RE, Viji Finance, Bhagyanagar India, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, Manali Petrochemicals, Vimta Labs, and Cupid were the seven stocks that jumped over 10 per cent on the NSE.
7. Over 60 stocks hit upper circuits
Prostarm Info Systems, Rajoo Engineers, Vertoz, Rama Phosphates, and Felix Industries were among the 66 stocks that hit their upper circuits on the NSE during the session.
On the other hand, 33 stocks, including Diamond Power Infrastructure, Smarten Power Systems, and Venus Remedies, hit their lower circuits.
(This is a developing story. Please check back for fresh updates.)
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