Markets tumble over 1% as selling pressure intensifies; Banks, Financials drag
Equity benchmarks deepened their losses in afternoon trading on Tuesday, with the Sensex plunging over 860 points as selling pressure intensified across sectors. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 863.26 points or 1.12 per cent to 76,210.18, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 216.65 points or 0.93 per cent to 23,128.10 around 12.30 PM.
The market breadth remained significantly negative, with 2,480 stocks declining versus 1,319 advances on the BSE. The selloff was particularly pronounced in the broader market, with the Nifty Next 50 falling 1.88 per cent and the Nifty Midcap Select index dropping 2.11 per cent.
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Banking and financial services stocks faced considerable pressure, with the Nifty Bank index declining 683.35 points or 1.38 per cent to 48,667.45. The Nifty Financial Services index mirrored the weakness, falling 1.37 per cent to 22,611.90.
Healthcare and energy stocks provided some resistance to the downward trend. Apollo Hospitals emerged as the top gainer on the NSE, rising 2.54 per cent, followed by BPCL with a 1.62 per cent increase. UltraTech Cement advanced 1.44 per cent, while Tata Consumer Products and HCL Technologies gained 1.22 per cent and 0.55 per cent respectively.
However, the gains were overshadowed by broader market weakness. Retail chain Trent led the losses, falling 4.32 per cent, followed by Adani Ports which declined 2.76 per cent. Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra dropped 2.44 per cent, while power utility NTPC and private sector lender ICICI Bank fell 2.29 per cent and 2.19 per cent respectively.
Market volatility was evident in the circuit filter data, with 215 stocks hitting their upper circuit limits while 211 stocks touched their lower circuits. Despite the overall negative sentiment, 95 stocks managed to reach their 52-week highs, while 44 stocks hit their 52-week lows.
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The market had opened flat earlier in the day as investors evaluated U.S. President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech, but selling pressure mounted as the session progressed. Persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows, which have exceeded ₹50,000 crore in January, continued to weigh on market sentiment.
With key technical support levels for Nifty at 23,170 and 23,000, market participants remain watchful of further developments as trading continues for the day.
