Thursday, May 18, 2023, witnessed the Indian stock market extending its slide, with both the Sensex and Nifty 50 ending lower for the third consecutive session. Although the market initially recovered most of Wednesday's losses at the opening hour, it later gave up gains during the trade. The Sensex closed 128 points lower at 61,431, while the Nifty 50 declined by 47 points to 18,134.
Losses in the FMCG and healthcare sectors were the key factors that led to the downward movement of the headline indices. However, the downside was limited by gains in the financial stocks. The Nifty Bank ended in the green, rising by 71 points to 43,770, while the Midcap index fell by 192 points to 32,570.
SBI witnessed profit booking after posting better-than-expected March quarter results, resulting in a fall of over two percent in its stock price. Similarly, ITC saw a three percent decline from its highs after reporting in-line March quarter results. Zydus Life also faced a decline of more than one percent following mixed March quarter results. Bata ended in the red ahead of its March quarter results, and GAIL fell by over three percent due to lower-than-expected March quarter results.
On the positive side, Bharti Airtel continued to gain momentum and emerged as the top Nifty gainer, driven by healthy Q1 internals. Ramco Cements rose over four percent from its lows after posting better-than-expected March quarter results. Honeywell, Jindal Stainless, and Whirlpool saw surges in their stock prices after reporting their quarterly numbers.
The market breadth favored declines, with an advance-decline ratio of 1:1, indicating the prevalence of selling pressure. It is important to stay informed about the market volatility and closely monitor the impact of Q4 earnings from ITC and SBI on stock performance.