Frontline indices, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, ended with nominal losses, snapping their two-day winning run on Wednesday, April 30. The Sensex closed 46 points, or 0.06 per cent, lower at 80,242.24, while the Nifty 50 ended 2 points down at 24,334.20. The mid and small-cap segments saw significant selling as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended with losses of 0.72 per cent and 1.74 per cent, respectively.
The volatility index, India VIX, jumped nearly 5 per cent to 18.22, indicating increased nervousness among market participants.
Due to the poor show of mid and small-cap segments, the overall market capitalisation of the firms listed on the BSE dropped to nearly ₹422 lakh crore from ₹426 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors poorer by about ₹4 lakh crore in a single session.
On a monthly basis, the Sensex and Nifty 50 rose 3.65 per cent and 3.46 per cent, respectively, marking their second consecutive month of gains. In March, the indices advanced 5.8 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively.
Indian stock market: 10 key highlights of the day
Let’s take a look at 10 key highlights of the stock market today:
1. What weighed on Indian stock market today?
The domestic market sentiment is low amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
According to media reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given freedom to military chiefs to respond to last week’s Pahalgam terror attack.
Meanwhile, Pakistan claimed that it has “credible evidence” which indicates that India is preparing to launch military action within the next 24 to 36 hours.
Concerns are mounting that further escalation between the two countries could spiral into a deeper conflict, damaging economic growth prospects already under pressure from the global slowdown and ongoing tariff war.
“The broad market performed well this month, driven by reduced tariff risks, a potential US-India trade deal, and strong FII inflows. However, momentum is being capped by rising tensions between India and Pakistan and muted Q4 results,” Vinod Nair, the head of research at Geojit Investments Limited, noted.
“This negative bias is expected to persist in the near term, but the long-term outlook remains positive due to the minimal financial impact from the conflict. Consequently, any market consolidation may be used as an investment opportunity.”
2. Top Nifty 50 gainers today
Shares of HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 4.19 per cent), Maruti Suzuki India (up 3.18 per cent) and SBI Life Insurance Company (up 1.80 per cent) ended as the top gainers.
3. Top Nifty 50 losers today
As many as 35 stocks ended in the red in the Nifty 50 index today. Shares of Bajaj Finserv (down 5.61 per cent), Bajaj Finance (down 5.27 per cent) and Trent (down 4.76 per cent) ended as the top losers.
4. Sectoral indies today
Most sectoral indices ended with losses, with Nifty PSU Bank (down 2.23 per cent) and Media (down 2.18 per cent) ending as the top losers.
The Nifty Bank slipped 0.55 per cent, while the Private Bank index ended 0.23 per cent lower.
On the other hand, the Realty index jumped 1.91 per cent. Nifty Pharma and Healthcare indices rose 0.44 per cent each.
Read all market-related news here
Read more stories by Nishant Kumar
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly, and circumstances may vary.
About The Author
