Sensex sheds 413 pts as HDFC twins, RIL weigh; Nifty ends below 18,300

CLOSING BELL: The BSE Midcap, Smallcap indices, however, bucked the trend and ended with a gain of up to 0.2 per cent. Breadth too was marginally positive.

Stock Market Highlights: The key benchmark indices languished in the negative zone almost throughout indices the day on the back of weakness in index heavyweights – HDFC, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. Broader indices, however, bucked the trend and ended with notional gains on Tuesday.

The S&P BSE Sensex witnessed a steeper fall in the last one-hour of trade, with the index plunging to a low of 61,847. The Sensex finally ended 413 points lower at 61,932. The Nifty 50 dropped 112 points to 18,287.

Also read: Large-cap MFs, Index Funds to attract flows as markets pick pace: Analysts

Among the Sensex 30 shares, HDFC and HDFC Bank declined around 2 per cent each after the index heavyweights turned ex-dividend. Reliance and Bharti Airtel were also down over a per cent each. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance and SBI advanced nearly a per cent each.

Broader indices, however, bucked the trend. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained up to 0.2 per cent. The breadth too was marginally positive, with nearly 1,850 shares advancing versus 1,680 declining stocks on the BSE.

3:59 PM

Tech View :: 'Stock specific action likely to happen; caution advised'

On the daily charts, we can observe that the Nifty is trading around the lower end of the rising channel within which it has been trading since past one and a half month. The daily momentum indicator has triggered a negative crossover which is a sell signal, however, until price breaks below the previous swing low of 18194, the higher top and higher bottom formation is not violated and hence we shall review our short-term stance once Nifty closes below this crucial level. From here on, stock specific action is likely to happen and hence caution is advised.

Views by: Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

3:55 PM

COMMENT :: What all happened in the markets today?

The domestic benchmark's ascent towards record high was interrupted by selling pressure in heavyweight stocks, although small and mid-cap stocks outperformed. As anticipated, the Eurozone economy experienced a modest growth of 0.1% QoQ in the Jan-Mar period, following a stagnant previous quarter. In the US market, cautious trading prevailed as debt-ceiling negotiations took precedence.

Views by: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

3:53 PM