Market Wrap, July 3: NIFTY50 ends below 25,500, SENSEX slips 170 points after a volatile session; financial stocks drag

After a volatile session, the equity benchmark indices closed lower on Thursday, July 3, as financial stocks dragged and foreign funds continued to outflow.

As the market failed to hold opening gains, the investors wait for more triggers from March-June quarter earnings and the outcome of the trade deal between India and the US.

The broader market, however, remained rangebound and settled with gains.

According to exchange data, on Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,561.62 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹3,036.68 crore worth of equities.

Globally, the stocks on Wall Street closed at record highs on Wednesday after the trade deal between the US and Vietnam. Though the S&P 500 and Nasdaq settled at record highs, the Dow Jones shied away from ending a little lower.

The S&P 500 rose 29.41 points, or 0.47%, to close at 6,227.42, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 190.24 points, or 0.94%, to end at 20,393.13. The Dow slipped 10.52 points, or 0.02%, to settle at 44,484.42.

The trade deal optimism was also seen among the Asian markets, where, except for Hong Kong, all the other indices settled with gains on Thursday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.63% at the 24,069.94 level, while the Shanghai Composite closed at the 3,461.15 level, rising 0.18%.

The Kospi in South Korea also surged 1.32% to 3,116.27 levels. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was seen at 39,785.90 levels, advancing 0.06%, and Singapore’s Straits Times ended 0.22% higher at 4,019.57 levels.

As many as 3,025 stocks traded on the NSE on Thursday. Out of this, 1,450 advanced and 1,472 stocks declined, while 103 scrips remained unchanged. The market breadth remained neutral.

A total of 69 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 44 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 98 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 52 touched their lower circuit bands on Thursday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹458.34 lakh crore at the end of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 12.39 levels, declining 0.48%.

SBI Life Insurance was the biggest laggard, declining 2.87%, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank (-2.03%), Bajaj Finserv (-1.40%), JSW Steel (-1.26%) and Grasim Industries (-1.24%).

On the flip side, Dr Reddy’s (1.9%), Apollo Hospitals (1.77%), Hero MotoCorp (1.75%), ONGC (1.19%) and Maruti Suzuki (1.01%) were among the top gainers on the 50-share index.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index surged 0.26% to end at 19,027.05 levels, while the Nifty Midcap 100 index closed 0.03% up at 59,683.25 levels.

Nifty PSU Bank (-0.89%) was the biggest laggard among sectors. Nifty Metal (-0.78%), Nifty Realty (-0.71%), Nifty Private Bank (-0.46%) and Nifty IT (-0.06%) were the other top losers.

Meanwhile, Nifty Media took the lead among winners, rising 1.45%, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables (0.56%), Nifty Auto (0.44%), Nifty Pharma (0.42%) and Nifty Oil and Gas (0.33%).