Broader indices under pressure; NIFTY midcap and small cap fall nearly 1.8%

Domestic equity indices were trading slightly below their neutral lines in late morning deals owing to selling in Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Infosys, SBI and TCS companies’ stocks. Meanwhile, broader indices underperformed their large peers with the BSE Mid-cap index and Small-cap index falling in the range of 0.80-0.85%. Weak cues from other Asian markets weighed on the domestic sentiments. Traders remained cautious amid an escalating trend in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran as they continued to attack each other. In the stock-specific development, Purvankara zoomed as its subsidiary bagged a deal worth ₹272 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady, while the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran continues to dent sentiment. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in Auto, FMCG, Capital Goods, while selling was witnessed in IT, PSU, Metal, Utilities and TECK.

The SENSEX is currently trading at 81404.54, down by 40.12 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 81191.04 and 81583.94. 14 stocks were advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

Broader indices underperform The NIFTY midcap 100 traded 900 points lower at 57,200 or 1.6% lower on the NSE at 1:00 pm. 95 out of the 100 stocks traded in red with Bank of India, RVNL, LIC Housing Finance, and ATGL falling up to 4%. Meanwhile, shares like Biocon, Jubilant Foodworks traded 1.7% higher.

The NIFTY smallcap 100 fell nearly 1.8% or 372 points to trade near 18000 levels on Thursday afternoon. The market breadth went in favour of declines with 95 stocks out of the 100 trading in red.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.31%, FMCG up by 0.08% and Capital Goods up by 0.08%, while IT down by 1.22%, PSU down by 0.89%, Metal down by 0.78%, Utilities down by 0.70% and TECK down by 0.69% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The NIFTY50 is currently trading at 24803.25, down by 8.80 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 24738.10 and 24863.10. 22 stocks were advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer up by 1.44%, Eternal up by 1.40%, Eicher Motors up by 1.18%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.83% and Apollo Hospital up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.22%, Adani Ports down by 1.65%, Indusind Bank down by 1.07%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.04% and JIO Financial down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 419.9 points or 1.77% to 23,290.79, Jakarta Composite plunged 99.97 points or 1.43% to 7,007.82, Shanghai Composite weakened 22.61 points or 0.67% to 3,366.20, Straits Times fell 13.33 points or 0.34% to 3,907.48, Nikkei 225 slipped 360.2 points or 0.93% to 38,524.95 and Taiwan Weighted lost 353.23 points or 1.61% to 22,003.50. However, KOSPI increased 2.11 points or 0.07% to 2,974.30.