Delhi, 22 May (H.S.): A significant decline hit the domestic stock market today, beginning with weak trading as sellers dominated immediately after the market opened. The intense selling pressure led to the Sensex dropping 1,106 points and the Nifty plunging 351 points during intraday trading. However, late buying interest allowed both indices to recover somewhat; the Sensex ultimately closed down by 0.79 percent and the Nifty by 0.82 percent.

The day’s trading saw the highest selling pressure in oil and gas, IT, and FMCG sectors, with declines also observed in automobile, pharmaceutical, banking, capital goods, consumer durables, metal, and tech indices. The broader market struggled, resulting in a 0.33 percent drop in the BSE Midcap index, although the Smallcap index rose by 0.17 percent due to last-minute buying.

Today’s market weakness caused a loss of over ₹2 lakh crore in investors’ wealth. The market capitalization of listed companies on the BSE fell to ₹439.09 lakh crore from ₹441.18 lakh crore on the previous trading day, indicating a substantial loss of approximately ₹2.09 lakh crore.

Throughout the day, 4,095 stocks were actively traded on the BSE, with 1,767 closing in the green while 2,165 experienced losses, and 163 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 2,567 stocks traded, with 1,109 gaining and 1,458 losing value. Within the Sensex, only 3 out of 30 stocks closed with gains while 27 declined. Similarly, of the 50 stocks in the Nifty, 8 ended positively and 42 faced losses.

The overall outlook for the market remains negative following this trading session, as selling pressure continues to overshadow buying interest across multiple sectors.

The BSE Sensex opened at 81,323.05 points today, witnessing a decline of 273.58 points. As trading commenced, the index faced increasing selling pressure, particularly after noon, which intensified significantly. This led to a considerable drop of 1,106.71 points by 2 PM, bringing the Sensex down to 80,489.92 points. However, in the final trading hour, buying activity helped the index recover over 460 points, and it eventually closed down by 644.64 points at 80,951.99 points.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty started the day down by 79.50 points, opening at 24,733.95 points. Like the Sensex, the Nifty faced immediate selling pressure, resulting in a decrease which saw it fall by 351.05 points to a low of 24,462.40 points by 2:30 PM. Following this drop, buying activity emerged, allowing the Nifty to recover approximately 150 points from its lowest point, ultimately closing down by 203.75 points at 24,609.70 points.

Throughout the trading session, among the notable performances in the stock market, IndusInd Bank was the top gainer, advancing by 1.95%. Other gainers included Bajaj Auto (0.53%), Bharti Airtel (0.49%), JSW Steel (0.47%), and Hero MotoCorp (0.29%). Contrarily, the top five losers were led by ONGC, which fell by 2.82%, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra (2.73%), Tech Mahindra (2.04%), Hindalco Industries (2.03%), and Wipro (1.98%). Overall, today’s trading encapsulated a volatile market rhythm characterized by initial selling pressure, subsequent recoveries, and notable fluctuations among key stocks.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar