Indian equity markets extended their losing streak to a seventh consecutive session on Wednesday, August 19, with benchmark indices ending lower as sentiments turned cautious ahead of the release of the US FOMC minutes, as investors remained concerned that the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation may continue.
The NSE Nifty50 ended 76.60 points, or 0.32%, lower at 24,078.30, while the BSE Sensex settled at 76,909.68, down 325.78 points, or 0.42%, from the previous close.
Among broader market indices, the Nifty Midcap100, and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices finished lower by 0.21%, and 0.51%, respectively. On the sectoral front, IT stocks bucked the trend, with the Nifty IT index eking out gains of 0.73%.
The overall market breadth remained negative, with NSE seeing 2,173 declines against 1,320 advances, while 116 stocks remained unchanged.
Here are today’s top gainers on the Nifty
Here are today’s top gainers on the Sensex
Here are today’s top losers on the Nifty
Here are today’s top losers on the Sensex
The Nifty has now filled the gap created on July 29, leaving one unfilled gap in the 23,890-23,820 zone. Another notable development is that, since the introduction of the Closing Auction Session (CAS) on August 3, the Nifty 50 has yet to register a convincingly strong close—a trend that warrants close monitoring.
“The index's inability to reclaim the 24,300 level reinforces the prevailing sell-on-rallies structure. However, the current decline remains orderly rather than panic-driven, despite broadly negative market breadth. Attention now shifts to the psychologically important 24,000 support level. A close below 24,050 would increase the likelihood of a test of 24,000 in the next session, while the 24,200-24,300 zone is expected to act as the immediate supply area on any recovery,” said Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth.
