Mumbai, Feb 5 The Indian stock market on Wednesday closed lower after a volatile trading session as investors remained cautious amid global uncertainties.
All eyes are now on the RBI monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on February 7, which could announce a rate cut for the first time in the last five years, as well as the Delhi Assembly election results to be out on February 8.
The BSE Sensex declined by 312.53 points, or 0.40 per cent, to settle at 78,271.28 after fluctuating between an intra-day high of 78,735.41 and a low of 78,226.26.
The NSE Nifty ended 42.95 points lower at 23,696.30 after touching a high of 23,807.30 and a low of 23,680.45 during the day.
Several stocks provided support to the market, with Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank emerging as the top gainers. Their share prices increased between 0.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent during the session.
However, selling pressure was seen in Asian Paints, Nestle India, Titan Company, ITC, HUL, and L&T, with Asian Paints leading the decline with a 4 per cent drop.
The broader market performed better compared to the benchmark indices. The Nifty MidCap index rose by 1.13 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index saw a stronger gain of 1.99 per cent.
Most sectoral indices on the NSE ended in positive territory, except for Nifty FMCG, Realty, Auto, and Consumer Durable indices, which declined by up to 1.85 per cent.
On the other hand, buying interest was seen in PSU Bank, Metal, OMCs, and Media stocks, with these indices rising over 1 per cent each.
According to Aditya Gaggar of Progressive Shares, the markets opened strong but faced resistance around 23,800 levels and reversed.
Without a strong momentum, the Index moved between positive and negative before ending at 23,696.30 with a loss of 42.95 points. The Media and Energy sectors performed well, while the Realty and FMCG sectors saw a drop of more than 1.5 per cent, he mentioned.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points, aligning with the budget's objectives of stimulating economic activity while managing a prudent fiscal position.
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