FINAL TRADE: Nifty slides to 21,522, Sensex tanks 802 pts amid heightened volatility

Stock market today: Domestic blue-chip indexes fell on Tuesday, following a sharp surge in the previous trading session, weighed down by oil & gas and financials stocks after Bajaj Finance's mixed third-quarter results. The Nifty index ended the volatile trade 215.5 points, or 0.99 per cent, lower at 21,522.1, while Sensex settled the day 801.67 points, or 1.11 per cent, lower at 71,139.9.

"Investors exhibited a reversal in strategy, adopting a cautious approach in anticipation of the upcoming FOMC meeting and interim budget amid persistent concerns regarding elevated valuations and escalating tensions in the Middle East," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

"Further, the trend weakened in EMs as a liquidation order for a major Chinese real estate firm dampened the sentiment. The US Fed is anticipated to maintain a rate pause; close attention will be paid to any hints regarding a potential rate cut in May," Nair added.

The high-beta Nifty Bank index, whose 12 constituents include SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, finished the day 74.6 points, or 0.16 per cent, lower at 45,367.75. "The Bank Nifty index has encountered persistent resistance around the 45,500 level over the last two days. To initiate a sustained upward movement towards 46,000, the index needs to convincingly break through this resistance, which coincides with the highest open interest on the call side," Kunal Shah, Senior Technical and Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities said.

"The immediate support on the downside is situated at 45,000, and a breach below this level could intensify selling pressure, leading to a decline towards 44,700–44,500 levels," Shah added.

Nifty Mid Cap 100 closed 0.39 per cent lower, while Nifty Small Cap 100 ended 0.23 per cent higher.

Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Titan, and Bajaj Finserv were among the top losers in the Nifty basket, down around 5–3 per cent. On the other hand, Tata Motors, BPCL, Eicher Motors, and Adani Enterprises were among the top gainers, trading with gains of around 1–3 per cent. 

Global Market

European shares edged higher on Tuesday, hitting fresh two-year highs, driven by overnight gains on Wall Street, strong corporate updates, and investor assessments of the interest rate cut expectations in a busy week for markets.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index, was up 0.3 per cent, as of 0920 GMT, rising for the fifth straight session.

Finnish retailer Kesko surged 9.6 per cent to lead the benchmark index after beating fourth-quarter profit estimates, while Danish medical equipment maker Ambu advanced 5.6 per cent following better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

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