Sensex Drops 422 Points, Nifty Falls Below 23,350 On Weak Global Sentiment

Indian equity indices closed in the red on Thursday as global sentiment weakened due to escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Nuclear concerns further dampened investor confidence, contributing to a negative market trend.

At the close of trading, the Sensex dropped by 422 points, or 0.54%, to 77,155, and the Nifty fell 168 points, or 0.72%, to 23,349. The market saw 1,235 stocks close higher, while 2,735 stocks ended lower. Only 95 stocks remained unchanged.

Market Struggles Across Sectors

Both large caps and smaller shares experienced losses. The Nifty Midcap 100 index dropped 162 points, or 0.30%, to 54,385, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 80 points, or 0.46%, to 17,596.

Among sectoral indices, auto, PSU Bank, financial services, pharma, FMCG, metal, and energy stocks led the decline. However, IT and realty sectors posted gains.

Weak Sentiment and Rupee Weakness

The Sensex saw major gainers like Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. On the losing side were stocks such as SBI, NTPC, ITC, Asian Paints, and Reliance Industries.

Market expert Rupak De from LKP Securities noted that sentiment remains weak in the short term, with support at 23,200. A drop below this could lead to a market correction, while resistance is placed at 23,550.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee weakened to 84.51 against the dollar as global uncertainties intensified. Gold prices surged due to heightened geopolitical tensions, reflecting growing safe-haven demand.

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