Weak global cues and lingering concerns over slowing economies and aggressive rate hikes kept the risk appetite of investors subdued as the market benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty closed in the red for the third consecutive session on May 25.
Asian markets traded mixed as investors remain concerned about the economy's prospects due to inflation, increasing interest rates, China's slowdown, and the Ukraine conflict.
Sensex opened 201 points higher but soon slipped into the negative territory as investors took money off the table considering the prevailing uncertainty in the market.
The 30-share pack Sensex ended with a loss of 303 points, or 0.56 percent, at 53,749.26 with 12 stocks in the green and 18 in the red. Nifty50 ended 99 points, or 0.62 percent, lower at 16,025.80.
“The subdued mood in the market continued for the third straight session as investors preferred to liquidate their holdings in stocks which are still highly valued. Investors are also waiting for the US FOMC minutes that will provide some clarity on where the market could move in the near-term," Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities observed.
Shares of NTPC (up 3.84 percent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.42 percent), Bharti Airtel (up 1.41 percent), HDFC (up 1.35 percent) and Nestle (up 1.02 percent) ended as the top gainers in the Sensex index.
On the flip side, Asian Paints (down 8.04 percent), TCS (down 3.69 percent), Tech Mahindra (down 3.53 percent), Wipro (down 3.30 percent), Larsen & Toubro (down 3.09 percent) and Infosys (down 2.06 percent) ended as the top laggards in the Sensex kitty of stocks.
Mid and smallcaps witnessed heightened selling as the BSE Midcap index fell 1.93 percent while the smallcap index suffered a loss of 2.94 percent.
Among the sectors, BSE IT cracked 3.19 percent, followed by the realty index which fell 3.02 percent. BSE Industrials, Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services, Basic Materials, Capital Goods and Teck indices fell more than 2 percent each.
Some 155 stocks, including Tata Steel, Wipro, Amara Raja Batteries, Berger Paints, Divi's Laboratories, JSW Steel, Dr. Lal PathLabs and Thyrocare Technologies, hit their 52-week lows on BSE.
Crude oil prices rose and Brent Crude traded at the $115 a barrel mark amid tight supplies and the prospect of rising demand. The rupee ended 6 paise higher at 77.53 per dollar.
"Domestic indices wavered tracking mixed sentiments from the global markets as investors assessed the possibility of a recession in the US followed by the Fed policy tightening. Global markets are awaiting the release of the Fed minutes, which will be evaluated for details on the path of the upcoming rate hikes. In this whipsaw market, investors can resort to defensives and value stocks and sectors," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts and not of MintGenie.
