Sensex down 150 pts, Nifty below 23,400 as PSU bank, oil & gas stocks fall; mid, smallcaps slip 2%

Laggards on the index included Adani Enterprises, Jio Financial Services, Enternal, Trent, and SBI Life Insurance Company.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex ended with cuts on May 6, snapping a two-day gaining streak, as 12 out of 13 sectoral indices traded lower. The broader market also felt the pinch and fell more than the frontline indices in the afternoon. Volatility flared up as the India VIX rose 3.6 percent to close at 19.

Investors are focused on central bank policy this week. The FOMC meeting for May concludes on Wednesday, and expectations are that the Fed will hold its policy rate steady at 4.25–4.5 percent.

At close, the Sensex was down 155.77 points or 0.19 percent at 80,641.07, and the Nifty was down 81.55 points or 0.33 percent at 24,379.60. About 787 shares advanced, 3,011 shares declined, and 121 shares unchanged.

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Experts say sustained FII buying for the 13th day in a row, supported by a weak dollar, has imparted resilience and support to the market despite ongoing India-Pakistan tensions. This resilience is further reinforced by tailwinds in the form of soft crude prices, declining inflation, and the RBI’s accommodative policy stance, including rate cuts and ample liquidity. However, the uncertainty surrounding India-Pakistan tensions is expected to keep the market range-bound in the near term.

In today's session, the broader market, represented by the Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices, mirrored the weak trend and underperformed the frontline indices with losses of 2.27 and 2.5 percent each. Since the start of the year, the two indices are down 6.5 and 13.5 percent, respectively.

Also read: Govt may begin offloading minor stakes in five PSU banks via OFS in FY27; strategic sale deferred

Sectorally, barring Nifty Auto, all indices ended lower. PSU banks led the decline with a sharp 5 percent drop, followed by realty, which shed 3.32 percent. Media, energy, oil & gas, and consumer durables also registered significant losses, each down between 1.68 and 2.15 percent. The pharma, metal, and infrastructure indices slipped over 0.7 percent, while private banks, IT, and FMCG recorded relatively milder losses.

Among stocks, CCL Products soared over 15 percent after the company posted strong results for the January–March quarter (Q4FY25). The company’s consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter rose 56.35 percent to Rs 101.9 crore, driven by strong demand and improved operational efficiency. Revenue from operations increased 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 836 crore, compared to Rs 726.7 crore in the same quarter last year.

In a significant move, Yes Bank shares, which were up 9 percent, pared gains to end just a percent higher in the afternoon. The surge followed a Moneycontrol report that Japanese financial conglomerate Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is back in the fray to acquire a controlling stake in the Mumbai-based lender.

Read more: Midcap, smallcap indices drop 1.5% on broad-based selling: Here are the top losers

M&M shares closed 1.2 percent higher, a day after declaring its Q4 earnings. Brokerages remain bullish as the firm expects to grow faster than the market in FY26, backed by strong demand for both its internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicle (EV) portfolios. The company noted that cannibalisation between ICE and EV models has been significantly lower than expected, with many EV buyers being new to the Mahindra brand altogether.

Bank of Baroda shares plunged 11 percent after the lender reported a weak set of numbers for the March quarter. While net profit rose 3.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 5,048 crore, the growth was largely driven by a 24 percent jump in other income, which stood at Rs 5,210 crore. Core earnings disappointed, with net interest income falling 6.6 percent to Rs 11,019 crore. Higher provisions during the quarter also weighed on investor sentiment.

"The next few sessions will be crucial. If Nifty sustains above this key retracement level in the 24,550–24,600 zone, it could trigger the resumption of positive momentum that has been missing for the last couple of weeks. On the contrary, if the consolidation persists, traders are advised to maintain a positive bias. Intraday supports have now shifted higher to 24,350, followed by 24,200. Positional support remains intact around the 24,000–23,800 range, which coincides with the earlier bullish breakout zone and the 200-day SMA," said Sameet Chavan of Angel One.

Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel, M&M, HUL, and Tata Steel were the top gainers on the Nifty. Laggards included Adani Enterprises, Jio Financial Services, Enterr10, Trent, and SBI Life Insurance Company.

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