Benchmarks snap 3-day rally amid heavy profit-booking

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty halted their three-day rally to close with deep cuts, in line with bearish global markets, as participants turned cautious ahead of the RBI policy announcement amid geopolitical uncertainties. Intense selling in metal, IT and capital goods stocks also dampened market sentiment, traders said.

In a bearish session, the 30-share BSE Sensex further dropped 503.76 points, or 0.60 per cent, to settle at 83,313.93. During the day, it tanked 666.07 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 83,151.62. A total of 2,447 stocks declined while 1,737 advanced and 158 remained unchanged on the BSE. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 133.20 points, or 0.52 per cent, to end at 25,642.80.

“Indian equities saw consolidation, as weakness was followed by a sharp rally in recent sessions, driven by optimism around the US-India trade deal, suggesting profit booking was at play.

“Global cues added further pressure, with concerns over a broad-based tech sell-off in international markets and heightened US-Iran tensions leading to risk-off sentiment,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said. Market participants are now turning their attention to the upcoming RBI policy meeting, Nair added.

The decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be announced by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday. From the Sensex constituents, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, Bharat Electronics, ITC, Infosys, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints were among the major laggards. In contrast, Trent, Tata Steel, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finance were the gainers.

Among sectoral indices, capital goods dropped 1.07 per cent, metal (1.05 per cent), consumer durables (0.88 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.78 per cent), IT (0.76 per cent) and telecommunication (0.72 per cent). BSE PSU Bank and oil & gas were the gainers. The Nasdaq Composite index tumbled 1.51 per cent, and the S&P 500 declined by 0.51 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.53 per cent higher.

“Indian equity markets traded in a tight range, signalling a wait-and-watch phase as investors remained cautious in the absence of fresh domestic triggers.

While overall sentiment remained stable, the benchmarks struggled to sustain momentum at higher levels, reflecting a lack of follow-through buying despite earlier positives,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.