Stock market today: Nifty 50, Sensex fall for 3rd straight day weighed down by losses in banks, IT stocks | Stock Market News

Stock Market Today: Indian markets closed in the red once again, as selling pressure in financial and IT stocks dragged the frontline indices lower, offsetting gains in metal and real estate stocks.

It was the third straight decline for the market, but the losses were limited. The Nifty 50 ended the session with a minor cut of 0.08%, closing at 22,913, while the Sensex finished at 75,736, down 0.26% compared to Wednesday’s closing price.

The broader market continued to maintain strength over the last few sessions after stocks had been battered for an extended period. The Nifty Midcap 100 index wrapped up the session with a gain of 1.30%, closing at 51,163, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index recorded an even higher gain of 1.43%, settling at 15,747.

Twenty-seven constituents of the Nifty 50 index ended in the green, with Shriram Finance leading the gains, rallying 4.1%, followed by NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharat Electronics and Trent, posting gains between 2.2% and 3.3%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki India and Tech Mahindra were the top losers, declining by 2.3%, 1.9 and 1.7%, respectively.

Commenting on today’s market performance, Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “Domestic equity indices experienced minor losses as rising concerns over potential U.S. tariffs on Indian goods led to capital outflows. Additionally, the proposed trade policy is expected to exert inflationary pressures, with the latest Fed Minutes indicating that an interest rate cut may be delayed.”

“However, the broader market showed an initial recovery, supported by expectations of improving consumption from Q1FY26, driven by moderating domestic inflation and the recent RBI rate cut,” he added.

Sector watch: Metals outperform, banks struggle

The minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting, released on Wednesday, showed that policymakers agreed they would need to see further declines in inflation before lowering interest rates, indicating that rates will stay where they were for longer, which dragged IT stocks lower in today’s session.

The index ended the session with a drop of 0.14% to 40,865. US policymakers also expressed concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on achieving that goal.

Many participants suggested that the Committee could maintain the policy rate at a restrictive level if the economy remained robust and inflation stayed elevated. Conversely, several noted that policy could be eased if labour market conditions weakened, economic activity slowed, or inflation returned to 2% more quickly than expected.

Among other sectoral indices, Nifty Bank emerged as the top loser, dropping 0.48%, followed by Nifty Pharma and Nifty FMCG, both ending in the red with losses ranging from 0.04% to 0.16%. On the winning side, the Nifty Metal index was the top gainer, rallying 1.96%, followed by Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas, which posted gains of 1.70% and 1.35%, respectively.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities, said, “Weak Asian market cues kept the mood sluggish with a negative bias through the session in the domestic market as investors continue to trade with caution. FIIs exiting Indian equities in droves over past few months have been making investors jittery, thus leading to risk averseness.”

Meanwhile, the US Fed’s pause in rate cuts in January, coupled with escalating trade tensions as Trump continues to announce fresh tariffs on incoming goods to the US, is fueling a sustained rally in gold prices. In today’s session, spot gold prices touched another record high of $2,954.60 per troy ounce, bringing its YTD gain to 12.5%

Technical Outlook

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said, “Yet another day passed with Nifty remaining confined within a narrow range, failing to break beyond a defined level. Though broader market stocks witnessed a significant rise, the headline indices, Nifty and Bank Nifty, mostly remained range-bound. On the lower end, support is placed at 22,800 for Nifty, while resistance is at 23,150. A decisive breakout on either side might trigger a directional move in the market.”

“Nifty 50 has formed a small bull candle signalling the continuation of consolidation for the fourth consecutive session. Over the past few days, Nifty has been trading within a broad range of 22,700–23,050. During this consolidation phase, dips toward 22,800–22,700 should be viewed as buying opportunities. A breakout above 23,050 would pave the way for further upside, towards the 20-day EMA placed around 23,200 levels,” said analysts at Bajaj Broking. 

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.