Equity benchmarks continued to spiral downwards in afternoon trading on Tuesday, with the Sensex witnessing a sharp decline of over 860 points as selling pressure heightened across various sectors. The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled by 863.26 points or 1.12 per cent to 76,210.18, while the broader NSE Nifty also took a hit, dropping 216.65 points or 0.93 per cent to 23,128.10 around 12.30 PM.
The market breadth remained overwhelmingly negative, with 2,480 stocks facing declines compared to 1,319 advances on the BSE. The selloff was particularly intense in the broader market, with the Nifty Next 50 witnessing a significant fall of 1.88 per cent and the Nifty Midcap Select index dropping by 2.11 per cent.
Banking and financial services stocks bore the brunt of the selling pressure, with the Nifty Bank index plummeting by 683.35 points or 1.38 per cent to 48,667.45. The Nifty Financial Services index also reflected weakness, falling by 1.37 per cent to 22,611.90.
On the other hand, healthcare and energy stocks emerged as some of the top performers, providing a slight resistance to the overall downward trend. Apollo Hospitals secured the top spot on the NSE by surging 2.54 per cent, followed by BPCL with a 1.62 per cent increase. UltraTech Cement, Tata Consumer Products, and HCL Technologies also posted gains of 1.44 per cent, 1.22 per cent, and 0.55 per cent, respectively.
However, these gains were overshadowed by the widespread market weakness, with retail chain Trent leading the losses by plunging 4.32 per cent, followed by Adani Ports with a decline of 2.76 per cent. Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra witnessed a drop of 2.44 per cent, while NTPC and ICICI Bank faced declines of 2.29 per cent and 2.19 per cent, respectively.
Market volatility was evident in the circuit filter data, with 215 stocks hitting their upper circuit limits and 211 stocks touching their lower circuits. Despite the prevalent negative sentiment, 95 stocks managed to reach their 52-week highs, while 44 stocks hit their 52-week lows.
The market had initially opened flat as investors analyzed U.S. President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech, but as the session progressed, selling pressure intensified. The continuous outflows by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), exceeding ₹50,000 crore in January, continued to weigh on market sentiment.
With key technical support levels for Nifty at 23,170 and 23,000, market participants remain cautious and vigilant of further developments as the trading day unfolds.
