The Indian stock market benchmarks- the Sensex and the Nifty 50- ended flat with negative biases on Thursday, December 18, due to a lack of fresh triggers. The Sensex closed 78 points, or 0.09%, lower at 84,481.81, while the Nifty 50 settled at 25,815.55, down 3 points, or 0.01%. The BSE Midcap index ended with modest gains of 0.05%, while the Smallcap index fell 0.28%. IT stocks, including Infosys, TCS, and Tech Mahindra, were key support for the Sensex. On the other hand, select heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, and Bharti Airtel remained the top drags on the index.
Indian stock market: 10 key highlights from the day
1. Why did the Indian stock market fall?
The domestic market remained in the consolidation mode for the fourth consecutive session. In these four sessions, the Sensex has declined by almost 800 points, or nearly 1%, while the Nifty 50, too, has retreated by 1%.
The domestic market lacks fresh positive triggers to see a trend reversal. Persisting concerns over the rupee’s weakness, foreign capital outflow, and uncertainty over an India-US trade deal continue weighing on sentiment.
“Lingering uncertainty over a potential U.S.–India trade deal dampened sentiment, prompting profit-booking later in the day. Markets will focus on U.S. core inflation and jobless claims data, alongside interest rate decisions from the BoE, ECB, and Bank of Japan, for clearer directional cues,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.
2. Top gainers in the Nifty 50 index
InterGlobe Aviation (up 2.90%), TCS (up 1.97%), and Max Healthcare Institute (up 1.64%) ended as the top gainers in the index.
3. Top losers in the Nifty 50 index
Sun Pharma (down 2.62%), Tata Steel (down 1.40%), and Power Grid Corporation (down 1.23%) ended as the top losers in the index.
4. Sectoral indices today
Sectoral indices ended mixed, with Nifty IT (up 1.21%) stealing the show. Nifty Consumer Durables (up 0.37%), Realty (up 0.34%), and Metal (up 0.25%) also ended in the green.
Among the losers, Nifty Media (down 1.27%) was at the top. Nifty Auto (down 0.61%), Oil and Gas (down 0.33%), and Pharma (down 0.24%) also ended lower.
Nifty Bank slipped by 0.02%, while the Financial Services index inched up by 0.06%.
5. Most active stocks in terms of volume
Vodafone Idea (88.9 crore shares), Meesho (29.9 crore shares), and Ola Electric Mobility (18.5 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume on the NSE.
6. 14 stocks jump more than 15% on BSE despite stock market weakness
TCI Finance, Antony Waste Handling Cell, NDA Securities, Sonal Mercantile, and Rudra Global Infra Products were among the 14 stocks that surged more than 15% on the BSE despite weak stock market sentiment.
7. Advance-decline ratio
Out of 4,332 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,629 advanced, while 2,509 declined. Some 194 stocks remained unchanged.
8. Over 90 stocks hit 52-week highs
Vedanta, Shriram Finance, Federal Bank, Ashok Leyland, Federal Bank, and Hindustan Zinc were among the 95 stocks that hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade on the BSE.
9. Nearly 300 stocks hit 52-week lows
As many as 276 stocks, including ACC, REC, PFC, UBL, Page Industries, and Colgate Palmolive (India), hit their 52-week lows in intraday trade on the BSE.
10. Nifty’s technical outlook
According to Sudeep Shah, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, for Nifty 50, the zone of 25,750-25,700 will act as important support.
Shah said if the index slips below the 25,700 level, it could trigger a further correction to 25,550.
“On the upside, the 20-day EMA zone of 25,930-25,950 will act as a crucial hurdle for the index. Any sustainable move above the 25,950 will lead to an upside rally to 26,100,” said Shah.
Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking, highlighted that the Nifty 50 has managed to hold the crucial support near the previous swing low around 25,700, which remains a key level to monitor in the coming session, as a breakdown could lead to further correction.
On the upside, Mishra believes the short-term moving average, the 20-DEMA, continues to act as an immediate hurdle around 25,950, and a sustained move above this level will be essential for the next leg of the up move.
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