Market Wrap, March 25: SENSEX, NIFTY50 end flat but IT stocks shine; broader indices decline, 30 stocks hit 52-week high

The Indian stock market on Tuesday, March 25, settled flat but extended gains for the seventh session amid support from the information technology and banking sectors following US President Donald Trump’s signal of possible exemptions in tariffs on multiple countries.

However, investors were cautious as Trump on Monday said he will be levying a 25% tariff on countries buying oil and gas from Venezuela. India is one of the biggest importers of Venezuelan oil.

At close, the S&P BSE SENSEX stood at 78,017.19, rising 32.81 points, or 0.04%, while the NSE's NIFTY50 index ended at 23,668.65, up 10.30 points, or 0.04%.

The broader market underperformed the main indices as both the midcap and smallcap gauges lost over 1% on Tuesday.

Market breadth was largely in favour of negatives, as 2,258 stocks declined on the NSE out of 2,998 stocks traded during the session.

Foreign investors taking buying in the Indian equity market also failed to cheer the market investors. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth ₹3,055.76 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.

Globally, the US markets closed upbeat on Monday, fuelled by hopes of a more targeted approach by the Trump administration on April 2. The NASDAQ closed 2.2% higher, followed by the S&P 500 at 1.76% and the Dow Jones at 1.42%. Tech stocks like Tesla (11.9%), Nvidia (2.9%), Palantir (6.4%) and Meta (3.8%) were the top index movers on Monday in the US.

The Asian markets traded mixed on Tuesday after a broad rally in the US market. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% to 37,733.22, while the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.5% to 2,617.11.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 2.2% to the 23,387 level, and the Shanghai Composite Index also edged 0.2% lower to 3,364.05. Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.6%, and the SET in Thailand lost 0.2%.

As many as 2,998 stocks traded on the NSE on Tuesday. Out of this, 2,258 declined and only 674 stocks advanced, while 66 scrips remained unchanged.

A total of 30 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 96 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 105 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 157 touched their lower circuit bands on Tuesday.

Market capitalisation of NSE-listed firms stood at ₹412.35 lakh crore.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 13.64 levels, falling 0.47%.

The broader market remained under pressure on Tuesday as Nifty Midcap 100 settled 1.06% lower at 51,969.75, while Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 1.56% to the 16,108.90 level.

Except for Nifty IT (1.32%) and Nifty Private Bank (0.07%), all the other sectors settled negative on Tuesday. Nifty Consumer Durables (-1.93%), Nifty PSU Bank (-1.73%), Nifty Media (1.59%), Nifty Realty (-1.46%), Nifty Metal (-1.40%) and Nifty Oil and Gas (1.34%) were biggest losing sectors on Tuesday.

UltraTech Cement, Trent, Bajaj Finserv, Grasim and Infosys were the most contributing stocks on NIFTY50, rising 3.21%.

While IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Adani Enterprises, Coal India and Adani Ports were the biggest laggards, falling as much as 5.12% on the 50-share index.

Shares of IndusInd Bank closed at ₹635.15 apiece on NSE, tanking 5.12%. It was the biggest declining scrip on the 50-share index.

As per an estimate, ₹2,100 crore discrepancy in accounting may impact 2.35% of the bank's net worth. The comprehensive report by PwC is expected to point out actual loss to the bank due to accounting discrepancies, lapses at various levels and remedial action.

After trading positive during the day, the stock settled at ₹53.75 per share on NSE, falling 3.55%.

At close, shares of Punjab & Sind Bank stood at ₹46 apiece, rising 3% on NSE.