Sensex plunges 500 points, Nifty inches above 21.5K; JSW Steel, IT stocks among top losers

Stock market news: Benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, have ended in red on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, dragged down by IT stocks amid a global slide. While BSE Sensex ended 506.08 points lower at 71,386.40, Nifty 50 closed 139.65 points lower at 21,526.15.

Coming to broad market indices, while Nifty 50 fell by 0.69 per cent, Nity 100 fell by 0.43 per cent. Nifty Midcap 50 and Nifty Midcap 100 each rose 0.21 per cent and 0.30 per cent respectively. Nifty Next 50 was the top gainer in the broad market with a gain of 0.76 per cent followed by Nifty Microcap 250 which gained by 0.67 per cent.

In the sectoral indices, Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty IT fell, while Nifty Realty, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Consumer Durables rose.

“Profit taking continued for a second straight session due to weak global cues as investors exercised caution by trimming their equity exposure ahead of the US FOMC meeting on Thursday. IT and metal stocks were the laggards, even as power, realty and oil and gas stocks attracted significant buying," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

"Over the past few weeks, the rally was sharp and swift, and hence expensive valuations provided investors an opportunity to trim their equity exposure. Also, with the Union Budget round the corner markets may see bouts of volatility with a slightly negative bias in the near to medium term,” Tapse added.

Market commentary by Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio, BONANZA PORTFOLIO LTD

• Nifty closed on a negative note, while most of the sectors closed in the red today. Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank were the sectors that outperformed today by 1.23 and 1.14 per cent respectively. On the back of good numbers reported by PSU banks today's fueled optimism in the PSU Bank stocks.
• Weak global indicators, such as the manufacturing data contraction in China and the Eurozone, have raised more doubts about the global economy's ability to rebound in 2024. There has been a little retracement from Monday's top as the new year gets underway, suggesting some concern. 
• An important event to keep an eye on is the Federal Reserve's minutes release, since it might provide insight into when future rate reduction might occur.

BSE top gainers

• IndusInd Bank: 1.63 per cent
• ITC: 1.52 per cent
• Bharti Airtel: 1.15 per cent
• SBIN: 0.78 per cent
• Axis Bank: 0.65 per cent
• ICICI Bank: 0.45 per cent

BSE top losers

• JSW Steel: -3.80 per cent
• Tata Steel: -3.19 per cent
• Tech Mahindra: -2.84 per cent
• Infosys: -2.80 per cent
• TCS: -2.41 per cent

NSE top gainers

• Bajaj Auto: 4.55 per cent
• Adani Enterprises: 2.48 per cent
• Adani Ports: 1.58 per cent
• Cipla: 1.56 per cent
• ITC: 1.51 per cent
• IndusInd Bank: 1.42 per cent

NSE top losers

• Hindalco: -3.82 per cent
• JSWSteel: -3.77 per cent
• Tata Steel: -3.30 per cent
• LTIM: -3.03 per cent
• Tech Mahindra: -2.90 per cent
• Wipro: -2.81 per cent