Stock Market Highlights, April 15: Sensex drops 845pts, Nifty below 22,300 amid Iran-Israel conflict

Stock market updates on April 15, 2024: 27 of the 30 Sensex stocks and 44 of the 50 Nifty stocks nursed losses today led by Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv, L&T, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Divis Labs, SBI Life

Closing Bell on April 15: Domestic equity markets lost considerable ground on Monday as flaring tensions in the Middle East, where latest reports suggest that Israeli army has proposed likely retaliatory measures to its government against Iran, dampened sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 845 points, or 1.14 per cent, to end at 73,400 levels, while the Nifty50 closed at 22,273, down 247 points or 1.1 per cent.

27 of the 30 Sensex stocks and 44 of the 50 Nifty stocks nursed losses today led by Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv, L&T, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Divis Labs, SBI Life, and Tech M.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropped 1.5 per cent each. Overall, the volatility index, India VIX, surged over 8 per cent today. 

Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank index shed 1.8 per cent, followed by up to 1.7 per cent decline in the Nifty Private Bank, Bank, and IT indices.

4:07 PM

The Nifty recently dipped below a crucial moving average, following a breakdown in consolidation.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities: The Nifty recently dipped below a crucial moving average, following a breakdown in consolidation. Additionally, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicates a bearish crossover. Short-term sentiment appears bearish, although a significant decline isn't anticipated at present. Instead, the index is likely to fluctuate between 22,200 and 22,400. Sellers are expected to persist as long as the index remains below the 22,400-mark.

 

4:05 PM

The ongoing geopolitical tensions impacted investor sentiment and dragged the indices to a lower note.

Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services: Geopolitical tensions and higher-than-expected US inflation impacted investor sentiment and dragged the indices to a lower note. The major casualties were the mid- and small-cap indices due to their rich valuation and expectation of moderation in earnings growth in Q4FY24. On the other hand, the European market opened on a positive note while oil prices inched lower as market participants expected that the diplomatic efforts were likely to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.

 

3:59 PM

Rupee At Close

Rupee settles at 83.4500 against the US Dollar

3:55 PM

Broader market indices

In the broader markets, Nifty SmallCap lost 1.45% while MidCap fell nearly 1.50%

3:48 PM

Sensex Heatmap

27 of 30 stocks end in red on the 30-share Sensex, Wipro, ICICI Bank among the top losers.

3:45 PM

Nifty settles nearly 1% lower, Shriram Finance top loser

3:28 PM

Vedanta Group mandates JPMorgan to arrange $300 million India bond

A Vedanta spokesperson said the group continues to exercise refinancing and capital-raising activities from diverse sources as it seeks to improve its debt and cash profile. READ MORE

3:23 PM

Sebi to auction 22 properties of Rose Valley on May 20 to recover money

The regulator, in June 2022, ordered attachment of bank accounts as well as shares- and mutual fund holdings of Rose Valley Hotels and Entertainment Ltd and its then directors to recover investors' dues totalling more than Rs 5,000 crore. READ MORE

3:10 PM

ALERT :: IMD expects normal monsoon in 2024

2:56 PM

Sector Watch :: Sugar stocks in focus

>> India govt rules out permitting sugar exports this year, reports PTI 

2:45 PM

Suven Pharma stock can surge up to 19% from here; check key levels

The stock has underperformed owing to sub-par earnings in the December quarter. Suven Pharma posted a profit of Rs 5.24 crore for the December 2023 quarter, down 52.1 per cent when compared with a profit of Rs 10.95 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Total income declined by 37.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 22.68 crore from Rs 36.10 crore in the same period. READ MORE

2:35 PM

ALERT :: Israel Army likely prepares response against Iranian attack

2:20 PM

This wealth management stock has zoomed 394% in 1 year; approves buyback

Shares of Anand Rathi Wealth hit a new high of Rs 4,215 as they rallied 5 per cent on the BSE in Monday's intraday trade, in an otherwise weak market, after the company approved Rs 164.65-crore buyback through tender offer. The stock of the financial products distributor surpassed its previous high of Rs 4,199.80 touched on March 4, 2024. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.86 per cent at 73,604 at 01:42 PM. READ MORE

2:04 PM

Shipping industry set for tougher times ahead due to tensions in West Asia

Iran and its proxies launched 330 missiles and drones on Israel late on Saturday night in retaliation to an alleged attack by Israel on a diplomatic mission of the Islamic Republic in Damascus on April 1 in which several people, including two top commanders, were killed. READ MORE
 

1:49 PM

All firms in Nifty healthcare index face decline