Sensex‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ Ends Six-Day Rally, Nifty Drops Below 26,000 Following Global Weakness-Induced Profit-Taking

Mumbai, November 18: Indian equity markets took a breather after six sessions of gains on Tuesday as both the benchmark indices declined. The investor sentiment was weighed down by the soft global cues and sector-wise selling in IT, metals, and capital goods as investors chose to book profits.

Sensex Drops 278 Points; Nifty Closes Under 26,000

The Sensex recorded a drop of 277.93 points or 0.33 per cent to end at ₹84,673.02. During the day, the index was down 392.59 points at its lowest level of ₹84,558.36. Similarly, the Nifty faced selling pressure across the board, with the index losing 103.40 points or 0.40 per cent to close at ₹25,910.05. It went back under the ₹26,000 mark.

Market Struggles Due to Sectoral Selling

Profit-taking was one of the major themes in growth-heavy sectors, which faced the brunt of the selling pressure. Some of the largest declines in the Sensex Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Eternal, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever, and Bharat Electronics were among the big losers. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, and Titan were the few performers that managed to close in the green.

Global Market Deterioration Deepens Worries

Apart from the sharp drop in the overnight US stock markets, Asian-Pacific markets were also under selling pressure. The Kospi in South Korea, the Nikkei in Japan, SSE Composite in Shanghai, and Hang Seng in Hong Kong all closed lower. The European markets were trading weak, too, and the US stock markets had already closed in the red the previous day. Market participants priced out a Fed rate cut in December, which led to a risk-off environment globally. Dollar index gains weighed on IT and metal stocks, which were already weak.

Important Economic and Policy Changes

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal signalled that there is good progress in the India-US trade talks and that upbeat news could be released once the deal meets the standards of being fair, equitable, and balanced. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers on Monday, purchasing Indian equities worth ₹442.17 crore. Domestic institutional investors were also in the buying mood, with net purchases of ₹1,465.86 crore.

After Brent crude fell 0.40 per cent to USD 63.94 per barrel, the commodity market was able to breathe a little.

Market Movement Before Today

The market had been on a winning streak for six consecutive days leading up to Monday, when the Sensex managed to add 388.17 points to close at ₹84,950.95 while the Nifty gained 103.40 points to settle at ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌₹26,013.45.

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