Taking Stock: Market ends lower for the third day; Sensex down 129 points, Nifty below 18,150

The BSE midcap index shed 0.67 percent and smallcap index declined 0.26 percent.

The Indian equity market failed to hold on to opening gains to close lower for the third consecutive session on May 18, with the Sensex ending 129 points, or 0.21 percent, down at 61,431.74, and the Nifty slipping 52 points, or 0.28 percent, to 18,130.

The market opened higher on positive global cues but mid-session profit booking across sectors and in heavyweights erased the gains with benchmarks closing near the day's low.

Also Read: SBI Q4 result: Net profit climbs 83% to Rs 16,695 crore

Stocks and Sectors

Divis Laboratories, Adani Ports, Titan Company as well as SBI, which posted better than expected numbers for the March quarter, and ITC, whose fourth quarter performance was largely along expected lines, were among the biggest losers on the Nifty. Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints were the biggest gainers.

Except bank, all sectoral indices ended in the red. Realty, oil & gas, PSU bank, power, pharma, FMCG and capital goods were up to 2 percent each.

The BSE midcap index shed 0.67 percent and smallcap index declined 0.26 percent.

A short build-up was seen in Godrej Properties, Metropolis Healthcare and Gail India, while a long build-up, a bullish sign, was seen in Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, Whirlpool of India and AU Small Finance Bank.

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	82,102.10	-57.87	-0.07%
Nifty 50	25,169.50	-32.85	-0.13%
Nifty Bank	55,509.75	225.00	+0.41%

Nifty 50 25,169.50 -32.85 (-0.13%)

Tue, Sep 23, 2025

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
IndusInd Bank	755.25	20.95	+2.85%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Trent	4,891.00	-119.50	-2.38%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty PSU Bank	7451.10	80.15	+1.09%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty FMCG	55281.60	-725.15	-1.29%

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 400 percent was seen in Zudus Lifesciences, Grasim Industries and Divis Laboratories.

Anant Raj, Apollo Pipes, AU Small Finance Bank, Cyient, Chalet Hotels, Elecon Engineering, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Exide Industries, Jindal Saw and Ujjivan Financial Services touched their 52-week high on the BSE.

Also Read: ITC Q4 net profit up 21% at Rs 5,087 crore, revenue up 5.6%

Outlook for May 19

Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:

The Nifty opened gap-up but was unable to sustain at higher levels and closed in the negative down ~50 points. On the hourly charts, we can observe that the Nifty faced resistance around the key hourly moving averages and faced selling pressure.

Going ahead, 18,300–18,350 will act as a stiff resistance. On the way down, the Nifty is approaching the crucial support of 18,079, which coincides with the 20-day moving average and below which is the psychological support level of 18,000.

On the downside, there are multiple supports which shall provide cushion and restrict a deep correction. Stock-specific action is expected over the next few trading sessions. The daily momentum indicator has a negative crossover, which is a sell signal. Considering these factors, we have changed our outlook to sideways and the range of consolidation is 18,400–18,000.

Ajit Mishra, VP-Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets traded volatile on the weekly expiry day and ended marginally lower. Most sectoral indices ended lower. Realty, pharma and FMCG were among the top losers but resilience in banking and financials capped the downside. Broader indices, too, witnessed profit-taking and each closed nearly half a percent down.

Volatility across sectors is keeping traders on their toes. It will be prudent to stay light and utilise this phase to gradually accumulate quality stocks from top-performing sectors which are banking, financials, FMCG and auto.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities

Domestic markets underperformed its Asian peers on the third day of profit taking, with investors maintaining risk-on sentiment in the wake of a sharp spike in valuation following the recent upsurge. Bearishness is also seen due to caution over the US debt-ceiling deal and signs of slowing demand in China.

Technically, the Nifty formed a lower top formation on intraday charts and a bearish candle on the daily charts, which are broadly negative.

The market texture is weak and the 20-day simple moving average or 18,050 would be the immediate support zone for the bulls. On the other hand, 18,200 could act as an immediate zone for the traders, above which the index can retest 18,280-18,300.

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