Closing Bell: Sensex down 270 pts, Nifty ends below 24950; Eternal, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra top losers

India’s benchmark Sensex closed 270 points lower at 82,059, while the Nifty ended 74 points down at 24,945. On the BSE, 2,524 stocks advanced, 1,571 declined, and 178 remained unchanged

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back Tuesday morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices for all the global market action.

The Indian rupee gained ground as the greenback softened against a spectrum of leading global currencies. The ICE dollar index witnessed a downturn subsequent to Moody's rating agency's downward revision of the United States' sovereign credit rating by one notch. Moreover, the infusion of foreign fund inflows into Indian equity markets lent further strength to the domestic currency. In the short run, the USDINR spot rate is expected to find a support level at 85.25 and encounter resistance around 85.87.

Markets made a muted start to the week and ended marginally lower, taking a breather after the recent surge. After a flat opening, the Nifty oscillated within a narrow range throughout the session and settled near the day’s low at 24,945.45. A mixed trend across sectors kept traders engaged, with realty, pharma, and auto indices edging higher, while IT declined by over a percent. The broader market also witnessed a mixed performance, as the small-cap index gained over half a percent, while the mid-cap index ended flat.

We believe this intermediate pause in the index, without any significant damage to the overall structure, is a healthy sign. During such phases, traders should adopt a stock-specific approach. Among the key sectors, banking now merits more attention following its recent consolidation phase, as it could lead the next leg of the rally and help the Nifty move towards the 25,200 mark and beyond. Meanwhile, other sectors are expected to contribute on a rotational basis. Apart from corporate earnings, global cues and the trend in foreign fund flows will remain key factors to watch.

Indian stocks witnessed a volatile session, with the Nifty and Bank Nifty decoupling from each other. The Nifty slipped lower as IT and Oil & Gas stocks came under profit-taking pressure.

Technically, the index appears to be in a consolidation phase, which may continue for the next few days. On Monday, the Nifty closed below the 25,000 mark after two days of holding above it. The index may remain under pressure unless it reclaims the 25,000 level.

On the downside, the Nifty could drift toward the 24,800–24,750 zone. A deeper correction may be likely if it breaks below 24,750. Conversely, a move above 25,000 could trigger a rally toward the 25,250–25,350 range.

India's benchmark Sensex closed 270 points lower at 82,059, while the Nifty ended 74 points down at 24,945. On the BSE, 2,524 stocks advanced, 1,571 declined, and 178 remained unchanged

#1 Net Profit Down 9.45 at Rs16.3 Cr Vs Rs18 Cr (YoY)

#2 Revenue Up 14.5% at Rs202.6 Cr Vs Rs176.9 Cr (YoY)

#3 EBITDA Up 6.2% at Rs37.7 Cr Vs Rs35.5 Cr (YoY)

#4 Margin at 18.6% Vs 20.1% (YoY)

#1 Net profit at Rs103 Cr Vs Rs105 Cr (YoY)

#2 Revenue Down 6% at Rs1,045 Cr Vs Rs1,115 Cr (YoY)

#3 EBITDA Up 4% at Rs154 Cr Vs Rs148 Cr (YoY)

#4 Margin at 14.7% Vs 13.3% (YoY)

In an exchange filing, IDFC First Bank stated that its shareholders have rejected proposal to allow global private equity firm Warburg Pincus' arm to nominate a non-executive director on the bank board.

Citi: Company's volume outlook appears cautious, with domestic volume growth expected to be in line with the broader industry's. Slightly disappointed by the volume growth guidance. FY26-27 estimates trimmed, indicating lower volume estimates offset by better margins. Maintains 'Buy' at target price of Rs 2,150

Jefferies:  Bunched-up govt incentives and better-than-expected margins. Industry expects 1-2% growth in Fy 26. Jefferies is more optimistic with expectations of demand boost from recent income tax cuts and upcoming wage hikes for govt staff in FY27. Cuts to 'underperform' at target price of Rs 1,625

Target price set at Rs 263, implying 11% increase from last price

Servotech Renewable Power Systems shares rose 4.5% on May 19

Errol Musk was recently appointed to the company's Global Advisory Board

Servotech Renewable Power Systems shares rose 4.5% on May 19, fueled by news of Errol Musk's upcoming visit to India. His recent appointment to the company's Global Advisory Board is expected to enhance Servotech's global expansion efforts in renewable energy and EV charging solutions.

Advancers: 

Bajaj Auto +2.8%

Eicher 1.9%

Hero Motocorp +1.6%

IndusInd Bank 1.2%

Decliners: 

Infosys -1.3%

Eternal -1.3%

Grasim -0.9%

TCS -0.8%

Nykaa has 2 million shares traded in another block, after 3.06 million shares

Target price: Rs 1518

23% increase from last price

At PL Capital: Target Price is set to Rs 5744 implying 6% decrease from last price

At JM Financial: Target Price is set to Rs 6200 implying 1% decrease from last price

Target Price: Rs 1830

9.9% upside from last price

Q4 results topped estimates

Shrikant Chouhan, Head – Equity Research:

We are of the view that, in the short-term, the market texture is bullish, but buying on dips and selling on rallies would be the ideal strategy for traders. On the downside, 24,665/81300 and 24,400/80500 or 20 day SMA (Simple Moving Average) would act as key support levels, while 25,100/82700 could serve as an immediate resistance zone for the bulls. A successful breakout above these levels could push the market toward 25,500/83800. However, if the index falls below 24,400/80500, the uptrend could become vulnerable

Announced Q4 FY25 earnings end of last week/after-market hours

The MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index slipped by 0.2%.4

Japan’s Nikkei 225 is down by 0.54% , Topix fell 0.36%

South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.47% , Kosdaq was 0.77% lower

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures hint at a lower opening

Results Today

Power Grid Corporation of India

Bharat Electronics

ACME Solar Holdings

CMS Info Systems

DLF

DOMS Industries

Gujarat Gas

HEG

IRB Infrastructure Developers

JK Paper

One Mobikwik Systems

NLC India

Petronet LNG

Pfizer

PI Industries

Quess Corp

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company

Zydus Wellness

Nifty index is well placed on multiple time frames and poised for further up move in near term. Going ahead, we reiterate our bullish view on Nifty index intact and suggest traders to maintain buy on dips trading approach till it is holding above 24480 spot levels and expect it to test 25500 spot levels in near term. A weekly close above 25350 spot levels will push it towards its previous highs of 26277.35 levels.

Vipin Kumar, Equity Research

Nifty index is well placed on multiple time frames and poised for further up move in near term. Going ahead, we reiterate our bullish view on Nifty index intact and suggest traders to maintain buy on dips trading approach till it is holding above 24480 spot levels and expect it to test 25500 spot levels in near term. A weekly close above 25350 spot levels will push it towards its previous highs of 26277.35 levels.

Phillipines: Saw the highest selling by global investors on May 16 in one month

S Korea: Foreign funds bought $412.5 million of listed bonds on May 16. Sold net $5.65 million of local equities

India: Sold net $93.6 million of debt on May 15; 7th straight day of selling. Bought net $671.4 million, the most since April 15

Indonesia: Sold net $55.1 million of Indonesian bonds on May 9. Bought net $32 million of the country's equities on May 16.

Thailand: International funds bought net $1.27 million of Thai bonds on May 16; fifth straight day of buying.

The dollar edged lower along with US equity index after Moody's downgrade

Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 0.7% and for Nasdaq 100, declined 1%

Dollar weakened 0.2%

Treasuries yield curve steepened

Asian indices fell; Bullion gained 0.6%

Indian listed firms' promoters have pledged stocks worth Rs 1.57 trillion (18.3 billion) as of March-end, according to Kotak Institutional Equities

Gold bounced back from its biggest weekly drop as observed in six months.

Gold traded 1.3% higher at $3,245.67 an ounce

# Moody’s Ratings cut the United States’ sovereign credit rating to Aa1 from Aaa, due to growing burden of financing the Federal Govt's budget deficit and increasing cost of rolling over existing debt in the presence of high interest rates

# Spreads on Asian IG dollar bonds tightened for five straight weeks to Friday; that put them at levels under what they were when President Donald Trump announced his so-called ‘Liberation Day’ reciprocal tariffs at the start of April

# The dollar edged lower Monday along with US equity-index futures. Gold rose

# Over the longer term, Moody’s downgrade will likely result in higher interest expense, as the move should cheapen Treasuries relative to matched-maturity OIS, JPMorgan strategists wrote in a note

Trends on GIFT Nifty indicate a negative start for the broader Indian index, with a decline of 27 points or 0.11 percent. Nifty futures were trading around the 25,062.5 level

Indian equity indices ended on a negative note on May 16 with Nifty around 25,000. At close, the Sensex was down 200.15 points or 0.24 percent at 82,330.59, and the Nifty was down 42.30 points or 0.17 percent at 25,019.80.