The BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were dragged down during intra-day trade due to sharp declines, heightened tensions in West Asia, rising oil prices and continued foreign institutional outflows. The Sensex fell nearly 1,500 points at one point during the session, while the Nifty fell close to 400 points.
Despite the sharp correction, select stocks registered gains, offering pockets of resilience in an otherwise weak market.
Top performers included ACME Solar Holdings, whose shares rose nearly 7% after the company announced the commissioning of BESS capacity in the first phase of its project rollout. Shares of L&T Technology Services gained around 6%, while IFCI also gained around 6% during the session.
IFCI saw interest in the purchase after NSE announced the appointment of 20 merchant bankers and eight law firms as part of the process for its long-awaited IPO. This development is seen as a step forward for the exchange’s listing plans.
Other stocks that advanced during the session included Syngen International, which rose about 4%, and Cohan’s LifeSciences, which gained about 3%. Shares of Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company, Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore and Muthoot Finance gained over 2%.
Several other stocks including Angel One, BASF India, V-Guard, FirstCry, Concord Biotech, Rashtriya Chemicals, Castrol India, Bayer CropScience, CESC and FCons Infrastructure also registered gains despite the weak market tone.
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However, market breadth remained strongly negative. Within the Nifty 500, only 28 stocks were trading higher while 469 stocks were lower, indicating the intensity of selling pressure across the broader market.
The smallcap segment was particularly weak with the Nifty Smallcap 250 index falling around 3% during the session.
Within the Nifty 50, the index was close to 500 points by Friday afternoon, with only three stocks trading in the green — Tata Consumer Products, Hindustan Unilever and Bharti Airtel.
The sharp drop in equities came amid global risk aversion. Crude oil prices have risen following tanker attacks and concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East, causing volatility in global markets. India, which imports about 85% of its crude oil needs, remains particularly vulnerable to rising oil prices as it can affect inflation expectations, currency stability and corporate margins.
According to Ponmudi R, CEO, Enrich Money, the Nifty is under strong bearish control. “Immediate support is placed around 23,300, and a break below that level could accelerate the decline towards the 23,000-22,500 zone, which represents the next key demand area.”
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On the upside, 23,600 now acts as an immediate resistance level corresponding to the opening gap area, while strong resistance is around 23,800, he said.
(disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views given by experts are their own. (These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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