Sensex, Nifty tumble on profit booking after Monday's rally; key things to know

Indian equity benchmarks came under severe selling pressure on Tuesday as investors booked profit at higher levels post logging their best session (percentage-wise) yesterday in the last four years, since February 2021. The 30-share BSE Sensex pack plunged 1,282 points or 1.55 per cent to close at Rs 81,148 and the broader NSE Nifty index lost 346 points or 1.39 per cent to settle at 24,578. In contrast, broader indices (small- and mid-cap stocks) gained up to 0.81 per cent.

Such was the fall in the domestic bourses that over Rs 1.45 lakh crore of BSE market capitalisation (m-cap) was wiped out. Strong selling interest in select heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Airtel, TCS, ITC, Eternal (formerly Zomato) and HCLTechnologies pulled the indices down.

Investor wealth, as suggested by the BSE m-cap, dropped by Rs 1.45 lakh crore to Rs 431.10 lakh crore today compared with a valuation of Rs 432.56 lakh crore recorded yesterday.

On NSE, 10 out of the 18 sectoral indices settled in the red. Nifty IT, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Bank and Nifty Auto underperformed the index by falling 2.42 per cent, 0.88 per cent, 0.80 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, defence counters outperformed today after Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the need for greater military self-reliance.

Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Bharat Dynamics Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) surged up to 11 per cent. BDL soared 11.16 per cent to end at Rs 1,744.85. HAL climbed 3.81 per cent to Rs 4,609.05. BEL advanced 4.01 per cent to Rs 335.75.

The benchmark indices witnessed profit booking at higher levels, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head-Equity Research at Kotak Securities. Geopolitical tensions remained in focus as market participants monitored the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan, suggested Ashika Institutional Equity, adding to the cautious sentiment.

Nifty outlook

"24,500/81,000 and 24,450/80,800 would act as key support zones for Nifty/Sensex. If the market trades above these levels, it could retest 24,800–24,900/81,800-82,000 levels. On the flip side, a slip below 24,450/80,800 would make it vulnerable. If the market falls below this level, traders may prefer to exit their long positions," said Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst at Bonanza.

On Monday, Sensex had rallied 3.74 per cent while Nifty ascended by 3.82 per cent.