Mumbai—Indian benchmark stock indexes ended lower Monday as selling in banking and financial shares and escalating tensions between the United States and Iran weighed on investor sentiment.
The Sensex dropped 443 points, or 0.57%, to close at 77,708.52. The Nifty declined 96 points, or 0.39%, to finish at 24,238.50.
Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Maruti Suzuki India were among the biggest losers on the Nifty, with selling pressure concentrated in heavyweight financial stocks.
The Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial Services indexes recorded the steepest sectoral declines. The Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank indexes posted the strongest gains.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmark indexes. The Nifty MidCap index rose 0.6%, while the Nifty SmallCap index gained 0.16%.
Market analysts said the 24,300-to-24,400 range remains the Nifty’s immediate resistance zone, with the upper end aligning with its 200-day exponential moving average.
“A sustained breakout above this zone would strengthen bullish momentum and could pave the way for an advance towards the 24,500–24,600 region,” an analyst said.
On the downside, analysts identified 24,100 as the immediate support level. A decisive decline below that mark could trigger additional profit-taking and push the index toward the psychologically important 24,000 level.
Investors remained cautious as they monitored the continuing conflict between the United States and Iran. Analysts said the fighting had entered a ninth day, with tensions increasingly focused on the Strait of Hormuz. (Source: IANS)
