Sensex and Nifty 50 experienced a downward trend on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, with Sensex falling over 400 points and Nifty 50 slipping below 18,300 following a last-hour fall. Financial and oil & gas shares led the benchmark indices lower, while consumer durable and IT stocks limited the downfall. However, the Nifty Midcap 100 index surpassed the 33,000 mark for the first time since October 2021. On the other hand, HDFC and HDFC Bank slipped on ex-dividend, which weighed on the market, dragging Nifty by 54 points.
While the midcap index closed higher, it was down from the 52-week high of 33,045. The Nifty Bank slipped 168 points to 43,904, while the Midcap index gained 83 points to 32,793. Tata Motors saw profit booking following the surge on strong March quarter, down by two percent, whereas most Adani stocks closed in the red, with Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission being the top losers. Granules slipped two percent as earnings came largely in line with estimates.
Astral surged more than five percent after an all-round beat in March quarter, while PVR Inox closed with a cut of two percent after reporting a mixed set of earnings. BoB rose two percent and IOC more than three percent as March quarter earnings were better than expectations. The government reducing windfall tax on crude to nil lifted ONGC, stock up two percent.
Market breadth was neutral with the advance-decline ratio at 1:1.
Overall, BSE companies gained a market cap of nearly Rs. 30,000 crore, with investors waiting for more financial results from India Inc for domestic cues. Bharti Airtel is due to post earnings later in the day.