Closing Bell: Nifty 50 Slips Below 24,000; Sensex Falls 372 Points as Auto Stocks Drag, Pharma Hits Record High

The Nifty 50 and Sensex ended lower on Monday, June 29, after posting their longest weekly winning streak of 2026 in the previous session. Investors remained cautious as concerns over a weak monsoon outweighed optimism from easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and softer crude oil prices.

The Nifty 50 opened on a flat note before slipping to an Intraday low of 23,924.55. It eventually settled at 23,946.25, down 109.75 points or 0.46 per cent. The Sensex declined 372.10 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close at 76,728.37, snapping its two-session winning streak. The Bank Nifty also fell 0.77 per cent, while India VIX, the market's fear gauge, jumped nearly 4.3 per cent, indicating increased market volatility.

Brent crude traded above USD 72 per barrel on Monday, recovering from a four-month low after fresh tit-for-tat attacks between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee remained largely unchanged and hovered around 94.5 against the U.S. dollar in early trade, compared with its previous close of 94.38, as traders awaited clearer market direction.

The National Stock Exchange completed its scheduled index rebalancing during the final 30 minutes of Monday's trading session, resulting in changes to stock weightages across key indices. Within the Nifty 50, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Eternal and HDFC Bank saw an increase in weightage, while Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Grasim Industries and Maruti Suzuki witnessed a reduction. In the Nifty Next 50 index, Avenue Supermarts, Hindustan Zinc and Tata Capital gained weight, whereas Adani Energy Solutions and Tata Power saw their weightages reduced.

Sectoral performance remained mixed, with only three of the 11 major sectoral indices ending in positive territory. The Nifty Pharma index emerged as the top-performing sector, climbing 1.03 per cent to a fresh record high as 13 of its 20 constituent stocks closed higher. In contrast, the Nifty Auto index declined 2.08 per cent, recording its biggest intraday fall in the last seven weeks. Broader markets also ended weak, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index falling 0.37 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index declining 0.62 per cent.

Among individual stocks, Persistent Systems plunged 11.2 per cent amid investor concerns over its acquisition of Munich-based digital engineering company Nagarro SE. Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped 3.3 per cent after Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashok Vaswani announced that he would not seek reappointment after the completion of his current term. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories gained around 2 per cent after the U.S. drug regulator completed an inspection of its Bachupally manufacturing facility with seven observations, which the company said it would address within the stipulated timeline.

HDFC Bank contributed the most to limiting losses in the Nifty 50, adding 8.67 points, followed by Eternal with 6.71 points and Coal India with 4.68 points. On the downside, Reliance Industries was the biggest drag on the benchmark, shaving off 25.15 points. Kotak Mahindra Bank reduced the index by 21.66 points, while Mahindra & Mahindra dragged it lower by 17.33 points.

Market breadth remained negative during the session. Out of 3,470 stocks traded on the NSE, 1,330 advanced, while 2,036 declined and 104 remained unchanged. A total of 112 stocks touched their 52-week highs, whereas 61 stocks hit fresh 52-week lows. Additionally, 95 stocks were locked in their Upper Circuits, while 130 stocks were locked in their Lower Circuits.

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