Sensex, Nifty extend losses for second session as auto, pharma stocks drag; small, midcap indices fall over 2%

Experts say the market is currently navigating a mix of tailwinds and headwinds. On the positive side, strong foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows—amounting to Rs 29,513 crore over the past week—have boosted sentiment, reversing the earlier trend of flows into US stocks amid a strengthening dollar. This sustained interest from FIIs may discourage bearish positions in the near term.

Another encouraging sign is the statement by US Treasury Secretary Scot Bessent, who said India could be the first country to strike a bilateral trade agreement with the US. With the US seeking to broaden its trade partnerships amid a muted response from China, India’s resilient economy adds to the overall positive tone.

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However, a key risk looming over the markets is the uncertainty around India’s potential response to the recent terror attack and its possible geopolitical fallout.

In today's session, broader markets remained weak, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices shedding 2.5 percent each. While the ongoing correction has helped cool off valuations, Rajesh Palviya of Axis Securities believes the market still hasn’t entered a deep value zone. “Valuations are not extremely attractive, but investors are chasing names with clear earnings visibility,” he said.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Pharma, PSU Bank, Energy, Oil & Gas, Realty, Infra, and Auto declined between 1.5 and 2 percent. Nifty IT was the lone gainer, 0.72 percent, led by gains in TCS, Infosys, Persistent Systems, and Coforge.

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On the stock-specific front, Maruti Suzuki fell over 2 percent after reporting a 4 percent decline in net profit, missing Street expectations. The automaker posted a profit of Rs 3,711 crore versus analyst estimates of Rs 3,852 crore, as per a Moneycontrol poll. It also declared a final dividend of Rs 135 per share for FY24.

SBI Life Insurance emerged as the top gainer on the Nifty 50, surging over 5 percent following its March quarter results and positive commentary from brokerages. Nomura maintained its Buy rating with a target price of Rs 1,800, while Motilal Oswal pegged a more optimistic target of Rs 2,000. The insurer posted strong growth in renewal and first-year premiums, though a sharp drop in single premiums weighed on the overall performance.

Meanwhile, Axis Bank shares dropped over 4 percent after reporting a flat net profit of Rs 7,118 crore for Q4FY25, slightly below the Rs 7,130 crore in the year-ago quarter. Despite the lukewarm profit figure, the lender beat expectations on the back of higher core lending income. Total income rose 6 percent to Rs 38,022 crore from Rs 35,990 crore in Q4FY24.

On the technical front, Sameet Chavan of Angel One said that Nifty has already confirmed a bullish undertone by surpassing the February–March swing highs near 23,900 and staying above the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) placed at 24,000. “This previous resistance zone is now expected to act as strong support,” he said, adding that resistance is seen at 24,400 and then at 24,550, which marks the 61.8 percent retracement of the decline from all-time highs. He advised traders to maintain a positive bias and use dips toward the key support zone as buying opportunities.

Top gainers on the Nifty included SBI Life, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, and UltraTech Cement. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Shriram Finance, and Trent were among the top laggards.

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