Bloodbath on Dalal Street: Sensex Down Over 1000 Points, Nifty Touched Three Month Low

Market Update at 03:54 PM: The Indian equity market extended losses on Tuesday, closing sharply lower as investors weighed escalating global tensions. Broad-based selling pressure was seen amid the ongoing Q3 earnings season.

At the close, the BSE Sensex stood at 82,180.47, down 1,065.71 points or 1.28 per cent, while the NSE Nifty50 quoted 25,232.5, down 353 points or 1.38 per cent.

Market breadth was weak as all major Sensex constituents finished in the red, with the sole exception of HDFC Bank. Heavyweights such as Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Sun Pharma, and IndiGo were among the major drags on the benchmark.

Sectoral indices also saw widespread declines. Nifty Realty led the slide, tumbling over 5 per cent, followed by Nifty Auto which was down 2.56 per cent, and Nifty IT which declined 2.06 per cent.

The broader market posted even steeper losses, with the Nifty Midcap down 2.62 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap falling 2.85 per cent.

Market Update at 12:29 PM: Indian stock markets continued to slide on Tuesday after opening marginally lower, as rising global tensions dampened investor sentiment amid the ongoing Q3 earnings season.

By 12:05 PM, the BSE Sensex was at 82,898, down 348 points or 0.42 per cent, while the Nifty50 slipped 155 points or 0.61 per cent to 25,431.

Major index constituents saw weakness, with Bajaj Finance, IndiGo, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Eternal, Trent, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, TCS, Power Grid, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and Infosys among the Top Losers on the Sensex, declining up to 3 per cent.

Broader market action was weaker than benchmarks. The Nifty MidCap index was down 1.56 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index fell 1.82 per cent, indicating broader selling pressure across segments.

Sectoral indices were uniformly in the red. The Nifty Realty index led sectoral declines with a 2.2 per cent drop, followed by the Nifty IT index down 1.3 per cent, and the Nifty Auto index lower by 0.9 per cent.

Overall, the domestic equity market faced widespread weakness as global risk-off sentiment and quarterly earnings-driven stock-specific movements continued to guide direction.

Market Update at 10:25 AM: Indian equity benchmarks opened little changed on Tuesday, as market sentiment was weighed down by global trade uncertainty and continued foreign fund outflows. Investors also remained cautious ahead of quarterly corporate earnings.

The Nifty 50 eased 0.02 per cent to 25,580.3, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.05 per cent to 83,207.28 as of 9:15 a.m. IST. Broader markets also showed weakness, with Small-Cap stocks falling 0.4 per cent and Mid-Cap stocks down 0.3 per cent. Fourteen of the sixteen major sectors were in the red.

Global market sentiment remained subdued, with MSCI’s broadest index for Asia Pacific stocks outside Japanosing 0.3 per cent. Concerns intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump announced fresh tariff threats on eight European Union members over Greenland.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded Indian shares worth Rs 32.63 billion (USD 358.9 million) on Monday, extending January’s net outflows to about USD 3 billion. This marks the heaviest monthly selling in five months, highlighting continued caution among global investors toward emerging markets.

Pre-Market Update at 7:47 AM: Gift Nifty was trading around 25,608, showing a premium of nearly 12 points over the previous close of Nifty futures, indicating a flat start for Indian equities. Asian markets traded lower and US stock futures weakened after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland, dampening global sentiment.

On Monday, Indian benchmark indices declined amid escalating global trade tensions. The Sensex fell 324.17 points, or 0.39 per cent, to close at 83,246.18, while the Nifty 50 slipped 108.85 points, or 0.42 per cent, to end at 25,585.50. 

Asian equities opened lower as tariff concerns resurfaced. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.7 per cent and the Topix fell 0.52 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.41 per cent, while the Kosdaq was flat. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures indicated a positive opening.

Gift Nifty hovered around 25,608, nearly 12 points above the previous close, suggesting a flat start for the Indian market.

US markets were shut on Monday, January 19, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, while US stock futures pointed to a weak opening for Tuesday’s session.

China kept loan prime rates unchanged for the eighth straight month. The one-year LPR remained at 3.0 per cent, and the five-year LPR stayed at 3.5 per cent.

Citi downgraded continental Europe to “neutral” for the first time in over a year, citing increased transatlantic tensions and tariff-related uncertainty that hurt near-term investment sentiment for European equities.

Japan’s 40-year government bond yield surged to 4 per cent, the highest since its introduction in 2007. This marks the first time since December 1995 that Japanese government bond yields reached the 4 per cent level.

Gold prices hovered near record highs, while silver hit a fresh record amid safe-haven demand driven by US–Europe trade tensions. Silver briefly touched USD 94.7295 per ounce, while gold traded near USD 4,670.

The US dollar retreated to a one-week low, with the dollar index slipping 0.1 per cent to 99.004, its lowest since January 14. The dollar was flat at 158.175 yen. Against the offshore yuan, it traded around 6.9536 yuan, while the euro was steady at USD 1.1640 and the British pound at USD 1.3427.

For today, Sammaan Capital will remain on the F&O ban list.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.