Sensex Falls 142 Points as Nifty Maintains Above 23,900, Mid and Small-Cap Indices Continue to Outperform

Indian Stock Market Extends Losses for Second Consecutive Session

On Wednesday, 27 May, the frontline indices, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, ended slightly lower, extending losses for the second consecutive session. The Sensex closed 142 points, or 0.19%, lower at 75,867.80, while the Nifty 50 settled with a nominal loss of 7 points, or 0.03%, at 23,907.15.

The mid and small-cap segments continued their outperformance, with the BSE 150 Midcap index jumping 0.83% and the BSE 250 Smallcap index rising by 0.49%. Benchmarks remained rangebound today, too, as sentiment remained cautious amid no significant developments on the US-Iran peace deal front. A more than 3% fall in Brent Crude prices, however, prevented a sharp selloff. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee ended 1 paise up at 95.69 per dollar.

Key Contributors to the Decline

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HDFC Bank ended as the top drag on the Sensex, with shares of the banking heavyweight ending 2.63% lower at ₹758.50 amid reports of an internal investigation into interest payments worth ₹45 crore made to a state firm. Reliance, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and ITC also contributed to the decline in the Sensex.

Market Capitalisation

While the benchmarks ended lower, investors earned about ₹2 lakh crore in a single session, thanks to the gains in the broader markets. The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to nearly ₹471 lakh crore from nearly ₹469 lakh crore in the previous session.

Sector-wise Performance

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Bank Nifty fell 0.43%, while the Financial Services index declined 0.69%. On the other hand, Nifty Media (up 3.05%), Metal (up 1.67%), and Auto (up 1.45%) posted solid gains.

Technical View

Shrikant Chouhan, the head of equity research at Kotak Securities, believes that the short-term market texture is positive, but a fresh uptrend rally is possible only after the dismissal of 24,000. Sudeep Shah, the head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities, said the immediate resistance for Nifty is placed in the 24,030-24,050 zone.