The markets continue to be under pressure after Monday’s stupendous rally. The benchmark indices are down over 1% each and the cut got deeper in afternoon trade. The Nifty 50 fell over 350 points or 1.4% and is trading below 24,600, while the BSE Sensex was down 1,200 points or 1.59% at 81,136. The mid and smallcaps are however bucking the trend and continue to be steady. They are, however, off early lows.
The indices opened Tuesday’s trading session on a flat to lower note, but soon declined. The NSE Nifty 50 opened 12.40 points, or 0.05%, lower at 24,912, soon falling more than 200 points or 0.84%, to trade near 24,700.
The BSE Sensex opened 89 points, or 0.11%, lower at 82,340 while it declined over 800 points or 1.09%, to trade near 81,500.
Bank Nifty opened 7.60 points or 0.01% lower at 55,375.25. The Nifty Midcap 100 advanced 73 points, or 0.13%, to open at 55,489.40.
“The Nifty jumped 3.8% yesterday as tensions eased somewhat in the Indo-Pak conflict. In doing so, the benchmark also confirmed a so-called bullish flip above the 200-day moving average, a signal that has proven to produce short-term positive returns. Support now sits between 24,650 and 24,700, while 25,000 is key psychological resistance,” said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities.
Here are five key highlights at the moment
Top performers leading the charge
Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 were Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, IndusInd Bank, Bharat Electronics, and Hero MotoCorp. The top movers in the Nifty 50 were Infosys, L&T, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and Tata Motors as soon as markets opened.
Stocks in the red
NHowever, most other sectors are in the red. Tech and metals see sharp losses. The stocks that remained under pressure included Infosys, Wipro, Hindalco, Zomato, and Tata Steel, which were among the laggards.
Rupee surges on Ind-Pak ceasefire
As the India and Pakistan ceasefire, the domestic currency surged by 49 paise or 0.57% to 85.89 against the US Dollar. Meanwhile, the Dollar Index declined 0.23% to 101.56.
Global markets offer mixed signals
While Indian markets slipped in Tuesday’s trade, several major Asian exchanges were trading in the green, including Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Taiwan’s Taiwan Weighted. However, the futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%.
All eyes on Q4 earnings
Investors are closely tracking a string of quarterly results scheduled for today. Major names like Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel, Siemens, Bharti Hexacom, Aditya Birla Capital, Cipla, GAIL India, Suven Life Sciences, and VIP Industries will announce their quarterly earnings scorecard on May 13.