Taking Stock: Markets snap 3-day winning streak; Sensex down 297 pts, Nifty below 25,350 ahead of Budget

Market Today

• Nifty and Sensex fell, ending a three-day win streak before the Budget.
• Metal index fell 5%, while pharma, FMCG, and media sectors gained up to 1.8%
• South Indian Bank shares crashed 15% as CEO decided not to seek reappointment

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Bears returned on Dalal Street as the benchmark indices snapped a three-day winning streak, with the Nifty slipping below 25,250, intraday, amid cautious investor sentiment ahead of the Union Budget scheduled for Sunday, February 1.

Amid weak global cues, Indian benchmark indices opened lower, with the Nifty slipping below 25,300 in early trade, while extended mid-session selling dragged the index to the day’s low of 25,213.65. However, buying interest in the second half helped the Nifty recover to close above 25,300, near the day’s high.

At close, the Sensex was down 296.59 points or 0.36 percent at 82,269.78, and the Nifty was down 98.25 points or 0.39 percent at 25,320.65.

The broader indices ended mixed, with the Nifty Midcap index slipping 0.2%, while the Smallcap index gained 0.3%.

For the week, BSE Sensex and Nifty50 indices rose 1 percent each.

Also Read: Gold, silver ETFs crash up to 14% as precious metals tumble from record highs: Should you buy?

Hindalco, Tata Steel, Coal India, ONGC, ICICI Bank were among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers were Tata Consumer, Apollo Hospitals, Nestle, M&M, ITC.

Among sectors, metal index shed 5%, oil & gas, Bank, IT, Energy shed 0.5-1%, while pharma, media, consumer durables, FMCG rose 0.7-1.8%.

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	76,034.42	-829.29	-1.08%
Nifty 50	23,639.15	-227.70	-0.95%
Nifty Bank	55,100.95	-634.80	-1.14%

Nifty 50 23,639.15 -227.70 (-0.95%)

Thu, Mar 12, 2026

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
Coal India	470.10	23.35	+5.23%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
M&M	3,031.20	-137.00	-4.32%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Energy	36834.35	695.85	+1.93%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Auto	25098.00	-828.00	-3.19%

In stock specifics, South Indian Bank shares crashed 15% as CEO doesn’t seek reappointment, Swiggy shares price fell 4% as consolidated losses increase, Paytm shares fell 3% despite company reports profit in Q3, ACME Solar shares rose 4% after signing power purchase agreement (PPA) with NHPC, Capri Global share price shed 2.5% even as Q3 profit jumps 99.5%, NTPC Green Energy share price declined 6.5% after profit slips 73%. Meanwhile, Genesys International Corporation jumped 5% on winning an urban digital twin mapping platform project, and Ajanta Pharma rose 3% on better-than-expected Q3 results.

Also Read - Select PSU stock rally lifts sector’s market share to 17-month high

More than 280 stocks touched their 52-week lows, including Rainbow Children, Aditya Birla Real, Concord Biotech, LT Technology, Colgate, CG Consumer, Akzo Nobel, ACC, Syngene International, Emami, Blue Jet, Berger Paints, Newgen Software, ITC, Brigade Enterprises, Whirlpool, KPIT Technologies, Poly Medicure, among others. Click to View More

Outlook for February 1

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities

The Indian market posted weekly gains, led by recovery across market cap. The BSE midcap and the small cap indices outperformed the larger peers. BSE Metals (commodity rally), capital goods (budget expectation) and Oil & Gas (rise in oil price) were the major gainers in this week, whereas BSE Auto index (reacted to India EU FTA) witnessed correction.

The INR (vs USD) that has been weakening in recent weeks, hit fresh record lows this week. Oil prices have been climbing sharply in this week — with Brent crude and WTI hitting multi-month highs on rising geopolitical risk. From India’s perspective, sharp increase in oil prices can fuel inflation, put pressure on currency and widen the current account deficit.

The Indian market witnessed a decent Q3FY26 earnings season, with aggregate earnings marginally ahead of expectations until now. FII continues to sell Indian equities with net selling in cash market in Jan 2026 (till date) crossing Rs 40,000 crore.

Global equity markets priced in weakening of the Dollar index, the US Fed keeping policy rates unchanged, increased geopolitical tensions, and a sharp increase in gold and silver prices. In the coming week, Union Budget, commodity price movement, geo-political developments, currency movements, Q3FY26 results & management commentary and FII activity will influence the Indian equity market.

Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities

Nifty opened on a weak note and spent most of the session in a narrow, sideways range. The index found strong intraday support twice in the 25220–25210 zone and staged a smart recovery towards the last hour. However, it closed the day at 25,321, down 0.39% for the day. After bouncing off its 200-day EMA in the previous session, Nifty failed to see meaningful follow-through and ended the day trading inside the prior day’s range.

Going ahead, the immediate resistance for Nifty is placed in the 25,450–25,500 zone, with the Index failing to decisively close above this zone after attempting twice in the last six sessions. A decisive breakout above this zone could result in Nifty extending its pullback towards 25,650, followed by 25,800 in the near term. On the downside, the 200-day EMA zone of 25,200–25,150 zone is likely to act as a strong support.

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