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Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices ended lower on Monday as banking and financial stocks declined, while investor sentiment remained subdued amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.
The Sensex declined 443 points, or 0.57 per cent, to settle at 77,708.52, while the Nifty fell 96 points, or 0.39 per cent, to close at 24,238.50.
Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that the 24,300–24,400 zone continues to be the immediate resistance, with the upper end of this range aligning with the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA).
“A sustained breakout above this zone would strengthen bullish momentum and could pave the way for an advance towards the 24,500–24,600 region,” an analyst stated.
“On the downside, 24,100 remains the immediate support level. A decisive breach below this mark may trigger fresh profit booking and expose the index to the 24,000 psychological support,” as per the market expert.
Selling pressure was largely concentrated in heavyweight banking and financial stocks, with Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Maruti Suzuki India emerging as the top losers on the Nifty index.
Despite the weakness in the benchmark indices, the broader market outperformed. The Nifty MidCap index gained 0.6 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index ended 0.16 per cent higher.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial Services recorded the sharpest declines, reflecting pressure on financial counters.
On the other hand, the Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank indices ended with the strongest gains.
Experts said that market participants remained cautious through the session as they monitored developments surrounding tensions between the US and Iran, with geopolitical uncertainties keeping investor sentiment subdued.
“On the global front, the conflict between the US and Iran deepened further, with strikes now extending into a ninth day and tensions increasingly centred on the Strait of Hormuz,” a market expert noted.
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–IANS
