Banking, IT, and Oil & Gas stocks dragged the Nifty 50 index down, ending its seven-day winning streak and pushing it below the 23,500 mark
Benchmark equity index Nifty 50 snapped its seven-day winning streak on Wednesday, March 26, giving up the 23,500 level. Banking, oil & gas, and IT stocks weighed down the index. At close, Nifty 50 was at 23,486.85, down 181.80 points, or 0.77 per cent. Likewise, Sensex fell 728.69 points, or 0.93 per cent to close at 77,288.50.
From the index, NTPC emerged as the top loser, falling 3.52 per cent. Following it, Tech Mahindra slipped 3.09 per cent, Cipla dropped 2.49 per cent, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance dived around 2.2 per cent each. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) fell 2 per cent, Infosys slipped 1.81 per cent, and Apollo Hospitals dropped 1.74 per cent.
The top three index heavyweights - HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries - also slipped 1.01 per cent, 0.61 per cent, and 1.13 per cent, respectively.
On the other hand, IndusInd Bank and Trent surged 3.34 per cent and 2.37 per cent respectively, to emerge as the biggest gainer in today’s session. Only 10 stocks out of 50 ended in the green, rest all posted losses for the day.
The broader market too mirrored the benchmark indices, with Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 1.07 per cent and Nifty Midcap 100 slipping 0.62 per cent. Sectorally, barring Nifty Auto, all other major sectoral indices ended in red.
Exchange data showed, out of the 2,985 stocks traded today, only 622 stocks advanced, while 2,303 stocks declined. Effectively, that brings the advance-decline ratio (ADR) to 0.27, much below February 2025’s average ADR of 0.61.
The ADR is a market breadth indicator that compares the number of advancing stocks to the number of declining stocks.
60 stocks remained around unchanged levels. 23 stocks touched 52-week high, while 187 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. 62 stocks were locked in at the upper circuit while 180 stocks in the lower circuit.
Markets ended lower on Wednesday as investors booked profits ahead of the March derivatives expiry, while concerns over potential US tariffs added to the cautious sentiment.
The correction came as traders awaited clarity on tariff decisions, with the April 2 deadline looming. Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, said the market's momentum stalled as participants assessed geopolitical uncertainties and digested recent gains.
Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking, also said that tariff discussions continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Bajaj Broking, too, said that investors turned to profit booking due to uncertainty over US tariff policies following the recent sharp rally.
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