Sensex, Nifty 50 end lower as investors book profits after 7-day rally; small-caps bleed—10 key highlights | Stock Market News

Stock market today: Indian markets ended lower on Wednesday, March 26, as investors booked profits after a seven-day winning streak in the frontline indices. Additionally, a lack of clarity on the countries and sectors that may be exempt from the reciprocal tariffs set to be imposed by the Donald Trump administration on April 2 led investors to hold back on fresh buying.

All 13 major sectoral indices witnessed selling pressure, with IT, which showed some momentum during the first half of the trading session, also slipping into the red. Pharma stocks extended their losses for the second consecutive session on concerns that Trump may announce duties on drug imports.

Meanwhile, the broader markets also remained under pressure for the second straight day, with small-cap stocks facing heavy selling for another session.

Stock market today: 10 key highlights

Here are 10 key highlights of the Indian stock market today:

Nifty 50, Sensex turn red after 7-day rally

The Nifty 50 ended the session with a 0.77% decline, closing at 23,486 points and snapping its seven-day winning streak. Likewise, the Sensex ended its seven-day run of gains with a 0.93% drop, settling at 77,288 points.

Over the past seven sessions, both indices have gained over 5.5%, recovering from their February rout as foreign inflows and optimism over domestic macroeconomic factors provided some relief from India’s longest equity slump in nearly 30 years.

HDFC Bank, Infosys, and 3 other stocks contribute 56% to Nifty 50’s fall

The sharp drop in shares of HDFC Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, and NTPC collectively accounted for 106 points, or 56%, of the Nifty 50’s 181-point decline in today’s session.

HDFC Bank emerged as the top contributor, dragging the index down by 31 points.

Nifty Media: Worst sectoral performer

Among the 13 major sectoral indices, Nifty Media was the worst performer, losing 2.40% of its value. It was followed by Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Realty, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty IT, all of which ended in the red with losses ranging between 1% and 1.36%.

Mid, small-cap indices extend losses

Both mid-cap and small-cap indices faced heavy selling pressure for the second consecutive trading session. The Nifty Midcap 100 ended 0.62% lower at 51,646 points, taking its 2-day cumulative loss to 1.6%.

Likewise, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index dropped 1.17%, closing at 15,920 points, resulting in a 4.2% decline over two trading sessions.

41 Nifty 50 stocks end in red

Of the 50 constituents in the Nifty 50 index, 41 stocks ended with cuts, led by NTPC and Tech Mahindra, which dropped 3.4% and 2.7%, respectively. Other stocks, including Cipla, Bajaj Finance, BPCL, TCS, and Axis Bank, declined between 2% and 2.3%.

On the winning side, IndusInd Bank managed to end the session with a gain of 2%, followed by Trent and HCL Tech, which rose 2.6% and 0.5%, respectively.

408 stocks hit fresh 1-year lows

According to Trendlyne data, 408 stocks on Dalal Street tumbled to fresh 52-week lows in today’s session. Some stocks include NAPS Global India, Facor Alloys, NDL Ventures, SPP Polymer, Diggi Multitrade, Sunil Agro Mitshi India, Solve Plastic Products, Calcom Vision, and Upsurge Seeds.

12 stocks end with cuts between 10% and 20%

Overall, 12 stocks ended today’s session with sharp declines ranging between 10% and 20%, including names such as Salasar Techno, BLB Limited and Mukta Arts.

High activity: Zomato, Reliance Power, NCC see massive share turnover

Zomato stood as the top volume gainer today with 117.1 million shares being exchanged on both BSE and NSE. The stock ended the session with a drop of 3.11% at 203.29 apiece. The second biggest volume gainer in today’s session was Reliance Power with 111.2 million shares changing hands. Other stocks such as NCC, Capri Global Capital and Ashok Leyland have also seen over 50 million shares being exchanged today.

180 stocks locked in lower circuit limits

According to data available on the NSE, 180 stocks have touched their respective lower circuit limits, ranging between 5% and 20%.

Stocks including Goldstar Power, which declined 20% to close at ₹8.2 apiece. Likewise, Motisons Jewellers also touched lower circuit limit of 10%, settling at ₹17.27 apiece.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.