Mumbai— Indian equity markets ended marginally lower on Wednesday, as traders remained cautious ahead of the Maharashtra Day holiday and amid growing geopolitical concerns.
Both benchmark indices traded in a narrow range throughout the session. The Sensex opened slightly higher at 80,371 and briefly surged to an intra-day high of 80,526, gaining 237 points. However, it later reversed course, falling to a low of 79,879 before settling at 80,024—down 46 points.
The Nifty followed a similar trajectory, fluctuating within a 200-point range. It touched a high of 24,396 and a low of 24,199 before closing nearly flat at 24,334, down just two points.
“Traders largely stayed on the sidelines ahead of the mid-week holiday,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
Weak earnings from Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv weighed on the indices, with both stocks falling more than 5% after their Q4 results failed to meet expectations. Tata Motors and SBI also declined around 3%, while UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, and Asian Paints posted notable losses.
Maruti Suzuki India provided some support to the market, rising over 3%. Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, and Power Grid Corporation also logged modest gains of 1–2%.
The broader market remained under pressure. The BSE MidCap index dropped 1%, while the SmallCap index declined 2%.
Sector-wise, the Power and Capital Goods indices shed over 1%, while the Realty index was the standout gainer, rising more than 1%.
“The weakening U.S. dollar and India’s strong economic fundamentals are making the country an attractive destination for global investors,” said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. “However, after a strong rally, some stocks appear overvalued. Investors may want to consider booking partial profits and increasing cash positions.” (Source: IANS)
