Weakness in IT and realty stocks, declines in Inox Wind and Colgate, and broad-based selling kept the market under pressure, even as select stocks such as Tube Investments, Bosch and Indo-MIM gained.
The Sensex fell 493 points to 77,235, while the Nifty dropped 133 points to 24,155, slipping below the 24,200 mark. The Nifty Bank declined 235 points to 57,262, while the Midcap Index fell 278 points to 63,539.
All four major indices ended with losses of more than 0.3%. The market also adjusted lower for the second straight session after the closing auction session, with the Nifty adjusting lower by 11 points, the Sensex by 90 points and the Nifty Bank by 46 points.
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1. IT stocks remain weak
Information technology (IT) stocks were among the key drags on the market. Infosys, Wipro and HCL fell 2% each, keeping pressure on the benchmark indices.
2. Realty stocks drag midcaps
Realty stocks were among the top midcap losers, with Oberoi and Lodha among the top decliners. The Midcap Index ended 278 points lower at 63,539.
3. Inox Wind reverses gains, Colgate slips
Inox Wind reversed Monday’s gains and ended 4% lower. Colgate declined 3% as brokerages pointed to margin concerns following the investor meet.
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4. Tube Investments, Bosch buck the trend
Tube Investments gained 8% following a positive outlook from brokerages. Bosch extended its gaining streak and is up 19% this month so far.
5. Defence stocks and Indo-MIM gain
Defence stocks rose following the government’s new indigenous list, with Cochin Shipyard gaining 2%. Indo-MIM surged 10% on strong first-quarter results, with the stock almost doubling from its issue price.
6. Nelco falls, Milky Mist extends gains
Nelco fell 11% after announcing an investment of ₹190 crore in Lunar Holdco/Elveo Mobile. Milky Mist made a strong debut and extended gains to 30% after listing at an 18% premium. Only 10 Nifty stocks closed in the green, with Axis Bank and Max Health as the top gainers.
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From the Sensex basket, Axis Bank Ltd, Max Healthcare Institute Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and Grasim Industries Ltd were the major gainers. Asian Paints Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Wipro Ltd and Hindustan Unilever Ltd were the biggest laggards.
Jai Bala, CMT, Cashthechaos.com, on markets, said, “The markets have been dipping lower, and I pointed out that markets are coming closer to 24,100 and then turning around. It’s come very close to that. The zone of 24,100 to 24,050 is extremely crucial.
As I pointed out on the 4th of August, the main risks for the equity markets are coming from cross-assets. By that, what I exactly mean is the markets have been bearish on crude since April, and crude declined to $67. From then on, crude has rallied to $93.5, and that has been consistent with a corrective bounce.
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But any move above $93.5 will have a second-order effect. So far, it’s been the bond yields that have been taking the brunt, but any push above $93.5 on WTI crude will have a second-order effect on equity markets. So, the bond rout will extend, and that will have a knock-on effect on the equity markets. So watch out for $93.5 on WTI as a very crucial resistance. If it goes above that, as I said on August 4th, I will probably revise my objective to $145 crude.
So I’m not expecting this to happen, and I don’t want it to happen, but if it does, I will flip my view on crude. So, for the Nifty, like I pointed out, 24,050 is the maximum it can pull back lower. Ever since the CAS session began on August 3rd, it’s been a slow bleed down. So we want to watch 24,050.
If it doesn’t hold, the bullishness that I’m anticipating into the Diwali season will probably get delayed, and we will probably be getting the record highs probably only in 2027. So watch out for 24,050.
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But if that breaks, I might be open to considering lower levels of something like even 23,000. When it comes to the banking index, it’s slightly better off than the Nifty. It’s got a higher-high sequence there, but, you know, it needs to hold above 55,800 for the bullishness to stay intact. So anything below 55,800, I may have to revise my objective on the lower side.”
