Synopsis
On January 17, India's benchmark indices closed lower, influenced by selling in the IT and Financial sectors. Sensex fell by 423.49 points, closing at 76,619.33, while Nifty dropped by 108.60 points, settling at 23,203.2. Analysts warn of persistent bearish sentiment if Nifty stays below 23,400.Key Takeaways
- Bearish pressure continues on Nifty.
- Sensex ended at 76,619.33.
- Nifty closed at 23,203.2, down by 0.47%.
- Top gainers included Zomato and Nestle India.
- FIIs sold equities worth Rs 4,341.95 crore.
Mumbai, Jan 17 (NationPress) The domestic benchmark indices in India closed the day lower on Friday, with notable selling activity observed in the IT and Financial Services sectors.
The Sensex finished at 76,619.33, a decrease of 423.49 points, or 0.55 percent, while the Nifty settled at 23,203.2, down by 108.60 points, or 0.47 percent.
Continuing to experience bearish pressure, the Nifty index has faced weak sentiment after hitting resistance at an important moving average, as per analysts.
According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, “This bearish sentiment could continue in the short term as long as the index stays below 23,400. A dip towards 23,000 is possible, and a significant drop below 23,000 might lead to a broader market correction. Conversely, 23,400 is expected to act as a robust resistance level.”
Since reaching its recent peak in September 2024, the Nifty 50 has experienced an 11.5 percent decline, with the Midcap index down 12 percent and the Smallcap index falling by 11 percent.
Krishna Appala from Capitalmind Research remarked, “While the decline has intensified over the last week, the true situation lies beneath the surface. Numerous individual stocks have plummeted by 25-40 percent, highlighting the broader challenges that major indices frequently obscure.”
The Nifty Bank index closed at 49,540.6, down by 738.10 points or 1.50 percent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index finished at 54,607.65 after gaining 123.85 points, or 0.23 percent, whereas the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 17,672.05, up by 28.75 points, or 0.16 percent.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,055 shares ended positively while 1,887 shares declined, with 123 shares remaining unchanged.
Within the Sensex group, top gainers included Zomato, Nestle India, Asian Paints, Power Grid, Tata Steel, L&T, ITC, Sun Pharma, Titan, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Maruti Suzuki, and NTPC. In contrast, Infosys, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, M&M, ICICI Bank, TCS, and Tech Mahindra faced significant losses.
Additionally, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 4,341.95 crore on January 16, while domestic institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,928.72 crore on the same day.
