There was a lot of ups and downs in the stock market on Monday (April 20). Despite overall market weakness, a modest recovery was seen; However, the benchmark indices—Sensex and Nifty—closed with very modest gains. Nevertheless, the Indian market managed to recover from its lows amid tensions between Iran and the USA. Nifty recovered 120 points from its intraday lows, while Bank Nifty gained 220 points. Buying activities were brisk in PSU Bank and Auto shares. Sensex closed at 78,520, registering a marginal gain of 26 points, while Nifty 50 closed at 24,364, up 11 points. Bank Nifty also saw a slight rise and closed at the level of 56,582. However, the broader market showed signs of weakness. The Nifty Midcap index fell 0.23%, and the Smallcap index fell 0.45%; This clearly shows that there was more selling pressure on small stocks as compared to large-cap stocks.
Which stocks provided support?
During today’s trading session, stocks like Trent, JSW Steel, SBI and Asian Paints supported the Nifty. Buying interest in these specific stocks helped the index maintain its modest gains.
shares remain under pressure
On the contrary, stocks like Jio Financial Services, Hindalco, L&T and Tata Motors (PV) witnessed losses, limiting the upside potential for the overall market.
activities influenced by news
Today there was a lot of fluctuation in the prices of many shares, due to which there were some special news. IEX fell nearly 7% as the stock came under pressure over ‘market coupling’ issues. At the same time, Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy gained about 10% as the company received orders worth about ₹3,550 crore. EMS gained 7% after the company was declared L1 bidder for an order worth ₹208 crore.
Sectoral performance
Today there was tremendous growth in the power sector. There was strong buying in stocks like CESC, BHEL, Adani Green Energy and CG Power, making the sector the best performing sector.
Stocks with biggest profits and losses
Today, there was a lot of rise in stocks like Aequs, Balrampur Chini, Jyoti CNC Automation, and Graphite India. In contrast, GMDC declined 6%, while stocks like Cohance Lifesciences, Enviro Infra, and Awfis Space also showed weakness.
How was the market’s opening?
As soon as the market opened this morning, it fell rapidly and went into the ‘red zone’. Shortly after the market opened, the Sensex fell by 200 points. Nifty also weakened by 70 points and fell below the level of 24,300. However, major markets saw a slight uptick. Despite a lot of volatility, the markets seemed to be gradually coming back into the ‘positive zone’.
At 9:25 am, Sensex was trading at 78,707, up 213 points. Nifty was trading at 24,402 with a gain of 48 points. Bank Nifty was at 56,860 with a gain of 294 points. While IT, Metal, and Realty indices were down, the rest of the indices improved and were trading in the ‘green zone’. The PSU Bank index was up 1%, which supported Bank Nifty.
In the Nifty 50 index, SBI, Trent, ICICI Bank, Adani Enterprises, Max Healthcare, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, and Axis Bank were the top gainers. On the contrary, Jio Financial Services, Hindalco, TMPV, HDFC Bank, Coal India, HDFC Life, and Eternal were the biggest losers.
Global and domestic cues for the market are still quite volatile. Growing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, US-Iran tensions, and sharp fluctuations in crude oil prices are expected to determine the market direction. Although a strong rally in global markets and buying by FIIs seems to be providing some support to the market, geopolitical risks still remain the biggest concern.
