Sensex down 182, Nifty at 24,751 as US tariffs keep investors cautious

Business Standard

a day ago

After a flat opening, Indian equity benchmark indices remained under pressure on Friday, weighed down by weak global cues as investors remained cautious after the temporary reinstatement of US tariffs.
After hitting intraday low of 81,286.46, the Sensex settled at 81,451, down by 182 points or 0.22 per cent. The Nifty50 closed at 24,750.1 levels, down by 82.90 points or 0.33 per cent.
However, the broader markets settled flat with a negative bias. The NSE Midcap 100 index fell 0.06 per cent lower, while the NSE Smallcap 100 fell 0.03 per cent.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said, a range-bound movement continued in the market, with the temporary reinstatement of US tariffs by the appeal court influencing investors to stay sidelined. The global market may contend with macroeconomic concerns as the global trade landscape has yet to see stability, which may navigate a short-term consolidation.
"Meanwhile, FII inflows continued due to the volatility in the US 10-year yield and an expectation of solid domestic Q4 GDP data later today and a rate cut by RBI," he added.
Barring Nifty PSU Bank, all other sectoral indices ended in red, with Nifty Metal and Nifty IT emerging as the top losers. Nifty Metal was the top sectoral loser, down by 1.69 per cent, pulled by fall in Jindal Stainless (4.09 per cent), Vedanta (4.36 per cent), Hindalco (2.5 per cent), Jindal Steel (2.46 per cent), and Hindustan Copper down 1.72 per cent.
From the Sensex constituents, 25 out of 30 stocks settled lower, falling up to 2 per cent.
The top laggards included HCL Tech (1.95 per cent), Tech Mahindra (1.73 per cent), Infosys (1.54 per cent), Asian Paints (1.53 per cent), NTPC (1.53 per cent) and Sun Pharma down 1.4 per cent. Among the gainers were Eternal, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, L&T and Bajaj Finserv.
According to Ajit Mishra, senior vice president for research at Religare Broking markets began the June expiry on a muted note and ended marginally lower, continuing the ongoing consolidation phase. Participants are now awaiting a fresh trigger to break the consolidation and resume the broader trend. In the meantime, one should align their trades with sectoral trends and themes that are attracting noticeable interest.
"We recommend maintaining a 'buy on dips' approach, unless the Nifty decisively breaks below its first line of defense—the 20-day exponential moving average (DEMA), currently around the 24,600 level. A breach of this level could increase pressure and extend the current consolidation phase," Mishra said.