India's Benchmark Indices Post Steep Declines, Nifty 50 Closes Below 24,000

Stock Market Dips Amid Profit Booking and Global Uncertainties

The Indian stock market saw a decline on Tuesday, 5 May, with the frontline indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, ending in the negative territory. The 30-share pack Sensex closed at 77,017.79, lower by 252 points, or 0.33%, while the NSE barometer Nifty 50 ended at 24,032.80, down 87 points, or 0.36%.

However, the mid and small-cap indices bucked the trend and ended higher, outperforming the benchmarks. The BSE 150 Midcap closed 0.15% higher, while the BSE 250 Smallcap index ended with a gain of 0.20%. The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms remained stable at ₹467 lakh crore.

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The decline in the benchmark indices can be attributed to the selling in banking and financial stocks. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and SBI featured among the top drags on the benchmarks. The Nifty Bank index fell 0.60%, while Private Bank and PSU Bank indices declined 0.67% and 0.20%, respectively.

Weak global cues, elevated crude oil prices, and persisting uncertainties over possible talks between the US and Iran contributed to the decline. The rupee's fall to fresh record lows and foreign capital outflows also put pressure on the domestic market. Despite these headwinds, the ongoing earnings season provided some support and triggered selective bottom-fishing.

As many as 34 stocks ended in the red in the Nifty 50 index, with ICICI Bank, Jio Financial Services, Coal India, Tech Mahindra, and Axis Bank ending as the top losers in the index. On the technical front, analysts highlighted the possibility of a meaningful recovery from current levels.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, noted that the Nifty has sustained below the 50EMA for eight consecutive sessions, keeping the bearish trend intact. However, he highlighted that there is a possibility of a meaningful recovery from current levels. Sudeep Shah, the head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities, said the 23,900–23,880 zone may act as immediate support for the index, and a decisive break below 23,880 could trigger further weakness.

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