Market Wrap, Sept 23: SENSEX dips 58 points, NIFTY50 below 25,200 as FMCG, IT drag; TechM top loser

Indian equity benchmark indices ended flat down on Tuesday, September 23, after a volatile session, dragged by FMCG and IT stocks. Investor sentiment remained cautious amid a weakening rupee and continued foreign fund outflows.

The IT stocks extended losses for the second consecutive session as US President Donald Trump’s new H-1B visa policy continues to weigh on investors’ confidence.

According to exchange data, on Monday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹2,910.09 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹2,582.63 crore worth of equities.

Globally, Asian markets traded in a narrow range on Tuesday, with Chinese stocks leading regional losses. Overall trading volumes remained subdued due to a public holiday in Japan.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.54%, and the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.90%, while South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.50%.

On Wall Street, the US stocks rallied to a record high, boosted by renewed optimism in big-tech shares.

The S&P 500 rose 0.44% to hit an all-time closing high of 6,693.75, the Nasdaq advanced 0.7% to a record high of 22,789, and the Dow Jones advanced 0.14%. The up move in US stocks came after chip giant Nvidia rose 4% after it said that it will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI.

As many as 3,136 stocks traded on the NSE on Tuesday. Out of this, 1,329 advanced and 1,714 declined, while 93 scrips remained unchanged.

This, however, indicates that the market breadth favoured declines.

A total of 107 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 44 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 95 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 62 touched their lower circuit bands on Tuesday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹460.24 lakh crore at the end of the session.

The volatility index India VIX rose 0.63% to 10.63 levels.

Nifty FMCG took the lead among sectoral losers, tumbling 1.29%, followed by Nifty Realty (-0.89%), Nifty IT (-0.71%), Nifty Media (-0.66%) and Nifty Consumer Durables (-0.55%).

On the other hand, Nifty PSU Bank (1.09%), Nifty Metal (1%), Nifty Auto (0.62%) and Nifty Private Bank (0.53%) were the gaining sectors.

The NIFTY Midcap 100 index slipped 0.35%, ending at 58,496.60 levels, while the NIFTY Smallcap 100 gauge settled 0.53% lower at 18,191.75 levels.

Tech Mahindra was the biggest laggard, falling 2.16%, followed by Trent (-2.11%), SBI Life Insurance (-2.01%), Hindustan Unilever (-1.84%) and Nestle India (-1.72%).

On the flip side, IndusInd Bank (2.82%), Axis Bank (2.24%), Bajaj Finance (1.93%), JSW Steel (1.87%) and Maruti Suzuki (1.69%) were the top movers on the 50-share index.