It was a bruising day for the stock market today as Indian indices witnessed a sharp sell-off from the opening bell. The Nifty 50 tumbled well below the 24,000 mark, shed 394 points to close at 23,866.85, while the BSE Sensex plummeted over 1.7% to settle at 76,863.71.
Investor sentiment remained fragile throughout the session, with the overall mood turning decidedly bearish as heavyweights across high-weightage sectors faced intense selling pressure.
The pain was widespread across the board, but the sector performance in the automotive and banking spaces was particularly concerning.
The Nifty Auto index emerged as the primary drag, sliding 3.15%. Major players like Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki were among the notable contributors to the decline, falling 3.81% and 2.65% respectively.
Banking and financial services also faced a volatile day of trading. The Nifty Bank shed over 1,215 points, a 2.13% drop, fueled by significant retreats in private lenders. Axis Bank saw a steep decline of 4.26%, while Kotak Bank and Hdfc Bank also finished deep in the red.
In a market dominated by sellers, the list of top losers was headlined by Bajaj Finance, which crashed 5.01%, followed by Axis Bank and Bajaj Finserv.
Other prominent stocks facing heat included Trent, Bharti Airtel, and Asian Paints, all of which saw cuts of over 2%.
On the other side of the ledger, a handful of defensive plays managed to buck the trend. Top gainers were led by Ntpc, which managed a modest rise of 0.72%.
Sun Pharma and Power Grid also showed resilience, gaining 0.66% and 0.12% respectively, as investors sought refuge in healthcare and utility stocks amidst the broader market carnage.
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