Stock market today: The Indian stock market fell for the second consecutive session on Friday, April 25, on profit booking amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack. The Sensex ended the day 589 points, or 0.74 per cent, lower at 79,212.53, while the Nifty 50 settled at 24,039.35, down 207 points, or 0.86 per cent.
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices suffered deeper cuts, closing with losses of 2.44 per cent and 2.56 per cent, respectively.
The volatility index- India VIX- jumped nearly 6 per cent to 17.16, indicating increased nervousness among market participants.
The cumulative market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms plunged to nearly ₹421 lakh crore from nearly ₹430 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors poorer by about ₹9 lakh crore on Friday alone.
In two sessions, the Sensex has declined 904 points, or 1.1 per cent, while the Nifty 50 has retreated 290 points, or 1.2 per cent.
“Nifty has slipped after a consolidation on the daily chart, indicating a rise in bearish sentiment. Additionally, the index has fallen below its 200-DMA, signalling a potential re-entry into a bearish trend,” Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, observed.
“Investor sentiment remains weak, with a clear risk-off approach ahead of the weekend, amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan. In the short term, sentiment will likely continue driving the market trend, with the possibility of the index heading lower. Support on the lower end is placed at 23,800 and 23,515,” De said.
Indian stock market: 10 key highlights
Let’s take a look at 10 key highlights of the stock market today:
1. What drove the Indian stock market down today?
Profit booking amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan kept the Indian stock market down for the second consecutive session.
Q4 earnings have been mixed, failing to sustain the market’s recent gains.
Persisting uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s tariff moves and the slight revision of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) growth forecast for the Indian economy are also posing headwinds.
“Investor sentiment turned cautious amid escalating tensions along the Indo-Pak border. Mid- and small-cap stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, driven by their elevated valuations and growing concerns over potential earnings downgrades following a muted start to the earnings season,” said Vinod Nair, the head of research at Geojit Investments Limited.
“The risk of the correction continuing in the near term is evident as investors adopt a wait-and-watch stance,” Nair added.
2. Top Nifty 50 gainers today
Shares of SBI Life Insurance Company (up 5.15 per cent), Tech Mahindra (up 1.02 per cent), TCS (up 0.95 per cent) and Infosys (up 0.58 per cent) closed as the top gainers in the index.
3. Top Nifty 50 losers today
As many as 41 stocks closed lower in the Nifty 50 index. Shares of Shriram Finance (down 8.13 per cent), Adani Enterprises (down 3.95 per cent) and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 3.79 per cent) ended as the top losers.
4. Sectoral indies today
Barring Nifty IT, which rose 0.72 per cent, all major sectoral indices fell.
Nifty Media (down 3.24 per cent), Realty (down 2.80 per cent), Healthcare (down 2.42 per cent), Pharma (down 2.24 per cent), Metal (down 2.10 per cent), Consumer Durables (down 1.85 per cent), Auto (down 1.67 per cent) and Oil and Gas (down 1.43 per cent) ended with significant losses.
Nifty Bank index declined 0.97 per cent, while the Financial Services index lost 1.02 per cent.
The indices of Nifty PSU Bank (down 2.24 per cent) and Private Bank (down 1.28 per cent) also ended with deep cuts.
5. Most active stocks in terms of volume
Vodafone Idea (187.37 crore shares), YES Bank (10.93 crore shares) and Suzlon (10.4 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume on the NSE.
6. Four stocks defy weak market trend, jump over 10% on NSE
Lakshmi Finance & Industrial Corporation (up 20 per cent), Carraro India (up 15.57 per cent), Manaksia Steels (up 14.52 per cent) and Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances (up 10.50 per cent) were the four stocks that jumped over 10 per cent on NSE.
7. Four stocks fall over 10% on NSE
Shares of Bhandari Hosiery Exports (down 11.93 per cent), SRM Contractors (down 11.91 per cent), PVP Ventures (down 11.08 per cent) and Mindteck (India) (down 10.02 per cent) plunged more than 10 per cent on the NSE.
8. Some 146 stocks hit lower circuit on NSE
As many as 146 stocks, including Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy, Senco Gold, Sky Gold and Diamonds and Sangani Hospitals, hit their lower price band during the session on the NSE.
9. Advance-decline ratio
Some 455 stocks advanced while as many as 2,428 declined and 64 remained unchanged on the NSE.
10. 58 stocks hit 52-week highs; 40 stocks touch 52-week low on BSE
Some 58 stocks, including UPL, UltraTech Cement, Dalmia Bharat and Coromandel International, hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade on the BSE.
On the flip side, 40 stocks, including Jai Balaji Industries, Hilton Metal Forging, Lasa Supergenerics, Raw Edge Industrial Solutions and Uma Exports, touched their 52-week lows.
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