CHENNAI: Indian equity markets remained volatile on Thursday amid heightened volatility, as global uncertainty and geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Weak global cues, combined with rising crude oil prices and mixed corporate activity, contributed to broad-based selling across sectors. BSE Sensex at 82,254.04 fell 261.10 points or 0.32% at 12.49 am and Nifty 50 shed 106 points or 0.42% to 25,035.20.
Broader markets like Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty Small Cap too mirrored the benchmark indices sliding 0.86% each.
Global Cues
Today's investor caution mainly stemmed from the ongoing assessment of the US-China trade agreement progress, and tensions in the Middle East, especially between US and Iran, lifting global crude oil prices and increasing fears of inflationary pressure
Mixed signals from the US Federal Reserve on the interest rate trajectory also caused market worries.
Today's only sectoral gainer was Nifty Pharma (0.7%) in the morning trade. While the sectoral losers were Nifty FMCG and Nifty Realty, which are 1.0% down due to rate sensitivity and concerns around demand growth weighed on these sectors.
At the same time, a defensive buying trend helped lift pharmaceutical stocks amid global uncertainty.
Top stocks performed today under Sensex were Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma. While, the top losers included Infosys, Eternal, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), and Hindustan Unilever (HUL).
Stocks in Focus
Share prices of Paytm's parent One 97 Communications Ltd declined 10% to ₹864.20 today, triggered by a sharp sell-off on high volumes following the Finance Ministry’s denial of reports suggesting a merchant discount rate (MDR) being charged on UPI transactions.
Sentiment was hit due to perceived regulatory overhang and profitability concerns in digital payments.
Similarly, Asian Paints witnessed high activity with 35 million shares changing hands in a large block deal during the pre-opening session on NSE.
The stock ended among the top gainers, possibly buoyed by strategic buying amid stable fundamentals.
According to analysts near-term market direction is now likely to be guided by global risk sentiment and oil price trends, any further updates on the US-China trade dynamic, domestic macroeconomic indicators such as inflation data and IIP figures, and movement in foreign institutional investment (FII) flows.
(Disclaimer: The stock trends mentioned in this report are for informational purposes only. Investors are advised to seek professional advice and rely on authentic market intelligence before making any investment decisions.)