Stock market today: Frontline indices, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, ended in the green on Monday, 18 May, staging a smart rebound from the day’s lows, on buying in select heavyweights.
The , which was more than 1,000 points down at one point during the day, jumped over 1,100 points to end in the green. The touched an intraday low of 23,317 during the session, but ended over 300 points higher than the day’s low.
The 30-share pack closed 77 points, or 0.10%, higher at 75,315.04, while the Nifty 50 settled at 23,649.95, up 6 points, or 0.03%.
However, the mid and small-cap segments underperformed. The BSE 150 Midcap index fell 0.43%, while the BSE 250 Smallcap index crashed 1.71%.
Due to the fall in the broader indices, the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to ₹458 lakh crore from nearly ₹461 lakh crore on Friday, making investors poorer by about ₹3 lakh crore in a single session.
Market sentiment remained cautious due to the rise in crude oil prices and the rupee’s weakness amid persisting uncertainty over the Middle East conflict.
Brent Crude traded over the $110 per barrel, while PTI reported the Indian rupee closed at a record low of 96.33 (provisional) against the US dollar.
“The prolonged stalemate between the US and Iran continues to cast a shadow over near-term sentiment, yet the equity market managed to recover intraday losses and closed on a flat note, supported by value buying in IT and banking stocks,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, noted.
“The ongoing earnings season has provided a constructive narrative, though caution persists as higher bond yields, elevated crude oil prices, and a weakening rupee reinforce inflationary concerns. Investors appear to be adopting a staggered allocation strategy rather than waiting for complete clarity, particularly in export-oriented sectors,” Nair added.
Tech Mahindra, Infosys, and Bharti Airtel ended as the top gainers in the Sensex index, while Tata Steel, Power Grid, and NTPC ended as the top losers in the index.
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Media crashed 2.24%, followed by Nifty PSU Bank (down 1.92%), Consumer Durables (down 1.80%), and Auto (down 1.71%).
Bank Nifty fell 0.32%. On the other hand, Nifty IT jumped 2.43%. The pharma pack also rose by half a per cent.
Nearly 100 stocks, including Sun Pharma, Ipca Laboratories, Gland Pharma, Laurus Labs, and Solar Industries India, hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade on the BSE.
On the other hand, some 80 stocks, including Punjab National Bank, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, Swiggy, Info Edge (India), SBI Cards and Payment Services, and United Breweries, hit their 52-week lows in intraday trade on the BSE.
Nifty 50 technical view
According to Sudeep Shah, the head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities, the immediate support for Nifty is placed in the 23,500-23,450 zone.
“Any sustainable move below this zone could result in Nifty extending its weakness towards 23,300, followed by 23,150 in the short term. On the upside, the immediate resistance for Nifty is placed in the 23,850-23,900 zone, which coincides with the 20-day EMA,” said Shah.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said that the Nifty is now facing resistance near the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of the previous decline, which is placed around 23,650.
“A decisive move above 23,650 could trigger a short-term rally towards 24,000 and higher levels. On the downside, immediate support is placed near 23,400,” said De.
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