India’s stock markets closed lower for the third straight session on Thursday, as selling pressure weighed on IT, pharma, and financial services stocks. However, small and midcap shares outperformed, showing strong gains during the session.
The Sensex ended at 75,735.96, down by 203.22 points or 0.27%. The index touched an intraday high of 75,794.15 and a low of 75,463.01 before settling lower. Meanwhile, the Nifty closed almost unchanged at 22,913.15, slipping by 19.75 points or 0.09%. The broader index traded within a narrow range of 22,923.85 to 22,812.75.
Market experts noted that the Nifty continued to trade in a narrow range, struggling to break above key levels.
“While broader market stocks witnessed a significant rise, the headline indices, Nifty and Bank Nifty, mostly remained range-bound. On the lower end, support is placed at 22,800 for Nifty, while resistance is at 23,150. A decisive breakout on either side might trigger a directional move in the market,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
The Nifty Bank index closed at 49,334.55, down by 235.55 points or 0.48%. In contrast, the Nifty Midcap 100 index surged 636.55 points or 1.26% to settle at 51,163.80, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 221.80 points or 1.43% to close at 15,747.70.
Among NSE sectors, PSE, Auto, PSU Bank, Metal, Realty, Media, Energy, Infra, and Commodities recorded gains, with the Nifty PSE index emerging as the top performer, rising 2.15% during the session.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,699 shares advanced, 1,273 declined, and 111 remained unchanged.
In the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, ITC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Zomato, and Sun Pharma were the top losers. On the other hand, NTPC, Adani Ports, M&M, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, Infosys, and Axis Bank led the gainers’ list.
On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,881.30 crore on February 19, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹1,957.74 crore on the same day.
In the currency market, the Indian rupee strengthened by ₹0.34 to close at ₹86.68 against the US dollar, supported by weaker crude oil prices and a dollar index trading below the 107 mark.
— IANS
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