Mumbai’s bustling stock market wrapped up Monday’s session on a sour note, with the benchmark Sensex plunging 324.17 points, or 0.39%, to settle at 83,246.18. The Nifty too mirrored the decline, shedding 108.85 points or 0.42% to end at 25,585.50. This downturn came amid heightened selling pressure across key sectors, painting a cautious picture for investors.
Leading the sell-off were realty, media, and oil & gas stocks, which dragged major indices lower. The Nifty Realty index tumbled 1.99%, while Nifty Media fell 1.84% and Nifty Oil & Gas slipped 1.56%. Infrastructure and commodities sectors also faced headwinds, with declines of 0.90% and 0.89% respectively. These movements underscore the broader market’s vulnerability to sector-specific woes.
Not all sectors bucked the trend, however. Nifty FMCG climbed 0.67%, Nifty Consumption edged up 0.15%, and Nifty Auto gained a modest 0.13%, providing some counterbalance to the day’s losses. In the Sensex pack, gainers included IndiGo, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Trent, ITC, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, BEL, L&T, and Sun Pharma, buoyed by selective buying.
On the flip side, losers dominated with ICICI Bank, Eternal, Titan, TCS, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, SBI, and HDFC Bank posting notable declines. The bearish sentiment extended beyond large-caps, as midcaps and smallcaps also saw heavy selling. Nifty Midcap 100 dropped 220.15 points or 0.37% to 59,647.65, while Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 171.60 points or 0.99% to 17,190.70.
Sudeep Shah, Technical and Derivatives Head at SBI Securities, attributed the weakness to renewed concerns over tariffs, which soured market sentiment right from the opening bell. ‘The market opened lower due to escalating tariff worries,’ he noted. For Nifty, the critical support zone lies between 25,500 and 25,450; a breach below 25,450 could lead to 25,300 levels. On the upside, resistance looms at 25,700-25,730.
Trading began on a weak note, with Sensex diving 498 points or 0.60% to 83,072 in early deals, and Nifty slipping 134 points or 0.52% to 25,560. As investors digest global cues and domestic pressures, tomorrow’s session will be watched closely for signs of recovery or further correction in this volatile environment.