New Delhi, May 16 (H.S.): After a tumultuous trading day following Thursday's stormy surge, the domestic stock market showed signs of consolidation as the week came to a close. The day began facing downward pressure, leading to a fluctuating tug-of-war between buyers and sellers; ultimately, both the benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, ended lower, with the Sensex down 0.24 percent and Nifty down 0.17 percent. Interest in defense sector stocks remained robust, along with ongoing buying in realty, public sector enterprises, and energy stocks. Meanwhile, indices for FMCG, automobiles, capital goods, consumer durables, and oil and gas managed to finish in positive territory. However, selling pressure loomed over the tech, metal, healthcare, and IT sectors. The Nifty banking index remained flat by the day's end.
Despite overall market weakness, the broader market saw consistent buying, leading to a 0.85 percent increase in the BSE mid-cap index and a 1.18 percent rise in the small-cap index. The gains in mid-cap and small-cap stocks translated into an increase of over ₹2.5 lakh crores in investor wealth, raising the market capitalization of BSE-listed companies to ₹442.74 lakh crores from ₹440.19 lakh crores the previous day, resulting in an approximate profit of ₹2.55 lakh crores for investors.
Trading today was active with 4,126 stocks on the BSE; 2,616 closed positively, while 1,370 declined, and 140 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 2,617 stocks traded, with 1,790 finishing in the green compared to 827 that closed in the red. Among the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 16 gained while 14 lost, and similarly, the Nifty had an equal split of 25 stocks each in the green and red.
The BSE Sensex opened lower, beginning at 82,392.63 points and sinking to a low of 82,146.95 points before bouncing back to 82,514.81 points due to buying support, but ultimately closed down by 200.15 points at 82,330.59. In contrast, the NSE Nifty started slightly positively but eventually closed down 42.30 points at 25,019.80. Notable gainers included Bharat Electronics at 3.85% and Bajaj Auto at 1.88%, while Bharti Airtel led the losers at -2.85%.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
