Indian stock market closed today’s (October 19) session on a lower note, dragged by significant losses in private bank stocks. The Nifty50 closed the trade 257.20 points or 1.11 per cent lower at 22,888.95, while the 30-stock BSE Sensex dropped 876.37 points or 1.17 per cent to settle at 73,852.90. The market breadth remained in favour of bears. Out of 3,664 stocks traded on the NSE, 846 advanced, while 2,717 stocks declined, and 101 scrips remained unchanged.
Axis Bank’s shares fell the most in the Nifty50, closing 4.2 per cent lower. It was followed by Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle (PV), Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Apollo Hospitals, and many others. On the other hand, JSW Steel, ONGC, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and Eicher Motors were the five major gainers in the index.
“Indian equities came under renewed selling pressure, reversing the recent recovery as weak global cues and selling in private banks and IT stocks weighed on investor sentiment. Global markets remained cautious ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings. Private banks remained under pressure following quarterly earnings and concerns over margin trends, while PSU banks bucked the broader weakness, supported by expectations of relatively resilient margins and asset quality,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.
The Nifty slipped below the psychologically important 23,000 level, while broader market breadth remained weak, reflecting cautious investor sentiment amid earnings-related volatility and uncertain global cues, he added.
Sparsh Bansal is the Chief Copy Editor with ET Now Digital. He writes extensively on equity markets, IPO, with a passion for financial markets and a sharp eye to detect patterns, I extensively cover IPOs, stock movements, and investment strategies that shape India’s economic landscape.
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Before ET Now Digital, Sparsh worked as a Correspondent with Financial Express. He started his career with Informist Media as a Reporter. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business and Finance Journalism from Asian College Journalism – Bloomberg, and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Noida International University.