Sensex down 800 pts, Nifty tumbles below 25,000 on weak global cues; all sectors in red

Tata Motors, Shriram Finance, Trent, Titan Company, and Coal India were the top losers.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex gave up early gains and slumped sharply in the final hours of trade on June 12, as a broad-based selloff gripped the market. Even the lone gainer, Nifty Pharma, buckled under pressure, while mid and smallcap stocks bore the brunt of the decline, falling harder than the headline indices.

At close, the Sensex was down 823.16 points or 1.00 percent at 81,691.98, and the Nifty was down 253.20 points or 1.01 percent at 24,888.20. About 1249 shares advanced, 2606 shares declined, and 134 shares remained unchanged.

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Adani Enterprises, Spicejet, and Indigo Airlines slipped up to 2.5 percent after a London-bound Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, just a few minutes after takeoff. As many as 242 passengers were on board, and no casualties have been reported so far, as emergency evacuation services are underway.

Despite encouraging signs on inflation and trade, rising tensions in the Middle East have taken centre stage, dragging markets lower as investors remain cautious and await greater clarity on the geopolitical front, Devarsh Vakil of HDFC Securities said.

"The recent flattish trend in the market is likely to continue in the near term since there are no clear positive triggers that can push the market much higher," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said. The tariff crisis is not yet over. The spike in Brent crude to $70 on heightened security risks in the Middle East is a negative for India.

Sectoral indices painted a weak picture on June 12, with losses across the board. Nifty Realty and Nifty Energy were the biggest laggards, slipping 1.74 percent and 1.73 percent, respectively, followed closely by Nifty Consumer Durables, which declined 1.72 percent. Nifty Auto, Metal, and Oil & Gas also fell sharply, each losing over 1.4 percent. FMCG, Infra, and IT indices shed between 0.7 and 1.3 percent. In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 dropped 1.6 percent and 1.78 percent, respectively. On the upside, Nifty Pharma managed to stay flat with a marginal uptick of 0.01 percent, while India VIX rose 2.49 percent to 14.01, indicating a spike in market volatility.

Paytm shares fell as much as 10 percent before trimming losses to trade 6 percent lower after the Finance Ministry clarified that no MDR will be levied on UPI transactions. The stock had earlier surged to a three-month high of Rs 978 following reports that the government might allow MDR on high-value UPI payments.

Hyundai Motor India climbed over a percent on June 12 after reports suggested the company is unlikely to face any near-term disruption in electric vehicle (EV) production despite mounting concerns over a global rare earth magnet shortage. CNBC TV-18 reported that Hyundai India is tapping into the global supply chain of its parent, Hyundai Motor Company, to secure rare earth magnets—critical components used in EVs.

"Nifty pulled back after approaching the 25,235 mark—its initial target—highlighting the continued lack of momentum seen over the past two sessions. However, the medium-term upside targets of 25,460–26,200 remain intact, with further gains likely as long as the index holds above 25,056. A drop below 24,900–24,863 could indicate weakness, but a decisive move below 24,640 would be needed to confirm a bearish shift," Anand James of Geojit Investments Limited.

Top gainers on the Nifty included Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Finserv, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Wipro, and ONGC, while Tata Motors, Shriram Finance, Trent, Titan Company, and Coal India were the top losers.