Stock market today: Sensex today slips 200 points, Nifty ends near 25,000 on pullback in IT stocks

Stock market today: Indian stock market took a brief pause in Friday’s session, May 16, after reaching a seven-month high, as muted global cues and a sharp reversal in domestic technology stocks weighed on overall sentiment. However, strong performances in the realty, media, auto, and consumer goods sectors helped limit the losses and supported the indices.

The Nifty 50 ended with a mild cut of 42 points, or 0.17%, to settle above the 25,000 mark at 25,019, while the Sensex fell by 200 points, or 0.24%, to close the session at 82,330. Both indices wrapped up the week with healthy gains of over 4%. Broader markets posted even stronger gains, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 7.21% this week and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rallying by an even sharper 9%.

Although the markets took a slight pause in today’s session, defence stocks continued to roar, with shares of Cochin Shipyard, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders gaining up to 12%.

Apart from the improved market sentiment toward defence stocks, their stellar performance in the March quarter has also supported the continued rally in these domestically focused companies.

Meanwhile, this week's blockbuster performance of the Indian stock market came on the back of a trade truce between the US and China, and the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, bringing equities back into the investor spotlight.

Additionally, expectations have grown that Washington will further roll back steep tariffs on its trading partners following the deal with China. After the trade agreement, global brokerage firm JPMorgan reduced the probability of a US recession, further boosting investor sentiment.

Sectoral Performance: Realty stocks shine: IT stocks lag

Domestic technology stocks faced selling pressure in today’s session after fresh US economic data and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made investors wary of the IT sector, dragging the Nifty IT index down nearly 1% to close at 37,972 points.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday that longer-term interest rates are likely to remain elevated as the economy evolves and policy remains uncertain.

“We may be entering a period of more frequent and potentially more persistent supply shocks — a difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks,” he said at a policy conference.

Meanwhile, retail sales in the US barely grew in April, as consumers pulled back on spending.

Among other sectoral losers includes Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma, which ended with mild cuts. On the winning side, Nifty Realty emerged as the top sectoral gainer, rallying 1.7%, followed by Nifty Media, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Oil & Gas — all closing with gains of over 0.5%.

Nifty may extend gains in near term

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said, "The Nifty remained in consolidation mode today, taking a breather after Thursday's rally. Overall sentiment continues to stay firm, with sectoral themes playing out. Indicators and overlays are consistently pointing towards further strength in the short term. Any dips are likely to be bought into, with support placed at 25,000/24,800. On the higher side, a move above 25,120 could take the index towards 25,250/25,350."

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.