Domestic equity benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, closed flat on Thursday, February 27, amid ongoing concerns about foreign capital outflows, slowing economic growth, and trade war fears between the US and its allies. The Sensex closed 10 points higher at 74,612.43, while the Nifty 50 closed at 22,545.05, down three points. However, the mid and small-cap indices suffered significant losses, with the BSE Midcap index falling 0.97 percent and the Smallcap index plunging 2.09%.
UltraTech Cement, Mahindra and Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, and ITC were the biggest drags on the Sensex index. However, gains in shares of select heavyweights, such as HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Reliance Industries helped the index finish flat with minor gains.
Market Closing Commentary
As per Bajaj Broking, the index fell for the seventh consecutive session, closing the monthly expiry session 2.50 points lower, or 0.01 percent, at 22,545.05. On the back of mixed global cues, the Indian indices opened marginally higher and traded in a range throughout the session before closing slightly lower. Except for banks and metals, all other sectoral indices ended in the red, with auto, media, energy, capital goods, real estate, and power all down 1-2 percent. The BSE Midcap index dropped 1%, while the small cap index fell 2%."
Nifty Outlook
"Technically, the index has formed a small bear candle with a lower high and lower low, indicating the continuation of the corrective decline. Key support is at 48,300-48,000, which corresponds to the bullish gap from January 28, 2025 and the 80% retracement of the recent uptrend (47,844-50,641). Holding above the same level may result in a pullback to 49,500-49,600 levels in the coming sessions," cited Bajaj Broking.
Market Commentary
Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates stated, “The Nifty began on a flat note, saw consolidation in a narrow range, and closed on flat to negative note at 22,545. The volatility index, India VIX, cooled off by 2.97% to 13.31, indicating a decline in market volatility.”
Furthermore, technically, on the daily chart, Nifty has formed a small red candle, indicating indecisiveness; however, it managed to defend the 22,500 support level. As long as Nifty holds 22,500, a pullback rally towards 22,700-22,800 is possible, while a firm break below 22,500 could trigger further selling pressure towards 22,300-22,100.
“Similarly, Bank Nifty opened on a positive note, saw buying interest in the first half, but profit booking in the second half led the index to settle flat to positive note at 48,744. Technically, the Bank Nifty on the daily chart formed a doji candle, reflecting uncertainty. On the downside, Bank Nifty will find strong support around 47,840, while on the upside 49,650 will remain a challenging barrier for the index. Traders should closely watch these levels for potential trading opportunities," he added.
Here are ten major highlights of the Indian stock market today:
Nifty 50 falls for the Seventh Consecutive Session
While the Sensex finished with nominal gains, the Nifty 50 fell for the seventh straight session. The index has fallen more than 4% this month and appears to be in negative territory for the fifth month in a row, the longest streak in about 30 years.
Top gainers in the Nifty 50 today
The Nifty 50 index's top gainers were Shriram Finance (up 5.18%), Bajaj Finserv (up 2.40%), and Bajaj Finance (up 2.03%).
The Top Nifty 50 Losers Today
UltraTech Cement (down 4.69%), Trent (down 3.63%), and Bajaj Auto (down 2.65%) were the index's biggest losers.
Sectoral Indices Today
The Nifty Bank index rose 0.28 percent, while the Private Bank index increased 0.23 percent. On the other hand, the Nifty PSU Bank index dropped 1.09 percent. Nifty Media (down 3.58%) was the biggest loser among sectoral indices. Nifty Realty (down 2.09%) and Auto (down 1.51%) also closed with losses.
Most Active Stocks based on Volume
Vodafone Idea (33.2 crore shares), YES Bank (6.3 crore shares), Bandhan Bank (4.7 crore shares), IDFC First Bank (4.2 crore shares), and Manappuram Finance (4 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume on the NSE.
Stocks Hit a 52-Week High
In intraday trade on the BSE, 52 stocks rose to new 52-week highs, including Bajaj Finance, Chambal Fertilizers, and Meghna Infracon Infrastructure.
Over 450 stocks reached 52-week lows Today
In intraday trade on the BSE, 466 stocks fell to 52-week lows, including SBI, Tata Motors, Adani Green Energy, Bharat Forge, Canara Bank, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Hero MotoCorp, and Varun Beverages.
Stocks that Rose more than 10% in a Weak Market
Purple Entertainment (up 16.13%), Hittco Tools (up 12.96%), Vivaa Tradecom (up 12.77%), Billwin Industries (up 12.73%), Ashiana Housing (up 12.33%), and CreditAccess Grameen (up 11.83%) were among the stocks that rose more than 10% on the BSE.
Stocks that declined more than 10%
On Thursday, at least 22 stocks on the BSE fell by more than 10%. The top losers included ETT (down 37.93%), KEI Industries (down 21.03%), Medico Remedies (down 19.99%), Cosyn (down 19.98%), and R R Kabel (down 19.92%).
Investors lost over INR 3 lakh crore
The overall market capitalization (m-cap) of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly ₹393 lakh crore from ₹396.5 lakh crore in the previous session, resulting in a loss of approximately ₹3.5 lakh crore for investors in a single session.
