Taking Stock: Bulls take Sensex higher, Nifty rides out auto tariff to end near 23,600 on expiry day

Market Today

Bulls dominated the trading session on March 27, erasing early weakness over US automotive tariffs, with benchmark Nifty 50 index ending near 23,600 on across-the-board buying, barring auto and pharma names.

At close, the Sensex was up 317.93 points or 0.41 percent at 77,606.43, and the Nifty was up 105.10 points or 0.45 percent at 23,591.95. BSE Midcap index was up 0.5 percent and Smallcap index rose nearly 1 percent.

The Nifty index advanced 4.6 percent in the March series.

After a weak start that dragged auto stocks lower on US president Trump's order to impose 25 percent tariff on auto import, market recovered to extend gains and the Nifty traded around 23,600 for most part of the session. Pharma stocks remained under pressure on uncertainty around Trump tariff plan.

Also Read: Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, Sona BLW, Samvardhana, others hit by Trump tariffs

Except auto (down 1 percent) and pharma (down 0.4 percent), all other sectoral indices ended in the green with media, oil & gas, realty rose a percent each.

Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Life, NTPC were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel.

Nearly 460 stocks touched 52-week low on the BSE, including Sona BLW, Happiest Minds, Metro Brands, Mahindra Life, Bajaj Electricals, Gensol Engineering, Vakrangee, TCI Express, Shiva Cement, Rolex Rings, Expleo Solution, Brainbees Solutions, Suyog Tele, Galaxy Surfactants, among others. Click here to view more

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	73,583.22	-1,690.23	-2.25%
Nifty 50	22,819.60	-486.85	-2.09%
Nifty Bank	52,274.60	-1,433.50	-2.67%

Nifty 50 22,819.60 -486.85 (-2.09%)

Fri, Mar 27, 2026

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
ONGC	281.95	11.75	+4.35%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Shriram Finance	903.80	-52.20	-5.46%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty IT	29541.65	-129.65	-0.44%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty PSU Bank	8249.45	-331.60	-3.86%

Outlook for March 28

Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares

After a slow start to the monthly expiry trade, the market saw a strong recovery from lower levels, although the Index later oscillated in a narrow range before ultimately concluding at 23,591.95 with gains of 105.10 points. Except Auto and Pharma, all the sectors ended the trade with gains where PSU Banks and Media were the top performers. In the broader market, a disparity was evident as Midcaps marginally lagged while Smallcaps gained over 1%, outperforming the Frontline Index.

The Index seems to have completed its corrective phase, filling the bullish gap zone and forming a Piercing candlestick pattern. The immediate resistance is at 23,800, and a breakout above this level could propel the Index towards the psychological level of 24,000. On the downside, support is seen at 23,400.

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking

Markets edged higher on the monthly expiry day, gaining nearly half a percent despite mixed cues. After a flat start, Nifty gradually moved up in the first hour, followed by a range-bound session before closing at the 23,591.95 level, up 0.45%. Sectoral trends remained mixed, with energy and realty emerging as top performers, while auto and pharma ended in the red.

The shift in FII stance, coupled with strength in banking and financial majors and rotational support from other heavyweights, is sustaining the positive sentiment. However, news related to US tariffs continues to trigger occasional volatility. Traders should look past the short-term choppiness during this consolidation phase and focus on selective stock opportunities.

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