MUMBAI: Indian markets closed lower on January 10 after a highly volatile session, with the Nifty slipping below 23,450. The decline was driven by broad-based selling across sectors, except for IT stocks, which surged following TCS’s better-than-expected Q3 results.
Despite weak cues from Asian markets, benchmark indices opened higher but quickly lost momentum in the first hour. The indices oscillated between gains and losses throughout the session, eventually ending in the red.
At the close, the Sensex fell by 241.30 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 77,378.91, while the Nifty declined by 95 points, or 0.40 per cent, to settle at 23,431.50.
TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Infosys, and Bajaj Finserve led the gainers on the Nifty. Meanwhile, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Ultratech Cement, SBI, and Sun Pharma were among the major laggards.
For the week, both the BSE Sensex and Nifty registered losses of more than 2 per cent. The BSE Midcap index fell by 1.2 per cent, while the Smallcap index dropped by 2.4 per cent.
Sectoral update
Except for IT, all other sectoral indices closed in the red. The Power, PSU, Realty, Healthcare, and PSU Bank sectors each declined by 2 per cent.
Nifty opened marginally positive, faced weakness, and closed negatively at 23,431. The volatility index, India VIX, rose by 1.75 per cent to 14.92, indicating heightened market volatility.
Bank Nifty opened negatively, continued its downward trend, and closed at 48,734. Technically, Bank Nifty remained below its 250-Day Simple Moving Average (250-DSMA) support and formed a red candle on the daily chart, indicating weakness.
“The 250-DSMA is near 49,900, serving as a strong resistance, while the psychological level of 48,000 will act as support. As long as Bank Nifty trades below 49,900, traders are advised to book profits on any bounce,” Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP – Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates, said,
