Indian stock market today: It was another quiet day for Indian markets as the initial rally in IT stocks, which powered the indices upward, was quickly offset by a sharp downturn in the financial pack, resulting in a flat close for both the Nifty 50 and Sensex.
The Nifty 50 ended the session with a 0.15% drop at 24,436 points, while the Sensex ended Wednesday’s trade with a cut of 0.16% at ₹80,090 points. 32 constituents of the Nifty 50 closed in the negative territory, led by Mahindra & Mahindra, which experienced a decline of 3.2%.
Other notable laggards included Sun Pharmaceutical, Eicher Motors, Shriram Finance, Power Grid Corporation, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports & SEZ, NTPC, and Cipla, all of which recorded losses exceeding 1.5%.
It appears that investors are seizing the opportunity to book profits on every price rise, a trend that has been evident over the past few trading sessions.
Expensive valuations, muted earnings reported by major companies for the September-ending quarter, ongoing selling pressure from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), rising tensions in the Middle East, and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming U.S. elections are some of the key factors currently weighing on the market.
Companies that reported earnings below estimates are experiencing significant selloffs in their shares, while those that exceeded street expectations are witnessing their stock prices reach fresh record highs.
Despite the pressure on large-cap stocks, mid and small caps quickly rebounded in today’s session following a sharp decline in the previous trading day. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed the session with a gain of 0.64%, settling at 56,533 points, while the Nifty Small Cap 100 index finished with a rally of 1.24%, reaching 18,285 points.