Muted Markets: Indian Indices Struggle Amid Geopolitical Concerns and US Fed Caution

On Thursday, India's equity benchmarks faced minor losses amid persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and cautious signals from the US Federal Reserve, which together dampened investor sentiment.

As the trading session concluded, the BSE Sensex recorded a decline of 82.79 points, settling at 81,361.87, while the Nifty 50 fell by 18.80 points to end at 24,793.25, showing a 0.10 percent and 0.08 percent dip, respectively. Despite the overall market downturn, Tata Consumer, Eicher Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as top performers in the Nifty index.

Adani Ports and Bajaj Finance, however, lagged behind, contributing to the downward trend. Sectoral performance stood out with Nifty Auto as the sole gainer, while indices like Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Media faced significant losses. The weak market breadth reflected in a skewed advance-decline ratio with only 61 of the Nifty 500 stocks closing higher, amid broad-based selling pressure.

According to Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical Research and Derivatives at SBI Securities, "Major indices lack leadership and broader markets are losing key supports, indicating the market's fragile structure." VLA Ambala, Co-Founder of Stock Market Today, highlighted the prevailing indecision driven by macroeconomic factors, uncertain market sentiments, and a Doji high wave pattern formed by Nifty, emphasizing the need for vigilance amid potential inflationary pressure or signs of recession.

The banking benchmark index, Bank Nifty, remained in the red, reflecting the overall lackluster market sentiment, having been confined to a narrow trading range for three consecutive sessions. Broader market volatility remained moderate, with India VIX at 14.26, though expectations of increased volatility loom in future sessions.

(With inputs from agencies.)