Nifty 50 posts its longest losing streak— 10 key highlights of Indian stock market today

Frontline index Nifty 50 suffered losses for the 10th consecutive session on Tuesday, March 4, on mounting concerns over a global trade war after US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Canada and Mexico and a 20 per cent tax on goods from China came into effect.

It was the benchmark index's longest daily losing streak in its three-decade history. In these 10 days, the index has fallen almost 4 per cent.

The Nifty 50 ended with a mild loss of 37 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 22,082.65, while the Sensex settled at 72,989.93, down 96 points, or 0.13 per cent.

However, the mid and small-cap segments witnessed buying interest. The BSE Midcap index climbed 0.08 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index jumped 1.28 per cent.

The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to ₹385 lakh crore from ₹384 lakh crore in the previous session.

The Nifty is now 4,195 points, or 16 per cent, down from its all-time high of 26,277.35. On the other hand, the Sensex had plunged 12,988 points, or 15.11 per cent, from its peak of 85,978.25.

Stock market today: 10 key highlights

Here are 10 key highlights of the Indian stock market today:

1. What drove the Nifty 50 lower today?

Investors are focused on trade war concerns. After the US imposed new tariffs on Mexico and Canada and an additional tariff on China, market participants fear that the reciprocal tariffs from these countries will harm global economic growth and drive up inflation.

Moreover, relentless foreign capital outflow and signs of economic growth losing momentum also weigh on sentiment.

"The domestic market exhibited a recovery from today’s lows but remained in negative territory due to adverse global cues related to escalating global trade tensions," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Shares of Infosys, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel ended as the top drags on the Nifty 50.

2. Which Nifty stocks fell the most today?

Shares of Bajaj Auto (down 4.95 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (down 3.34 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (down 2.65 per cent), HCL Tech (down 2.28 per cent) and Eicher Motors (down 2.01 per cent) ended as the top losers among the 28 Nifty 50 stocks that ended lower today.

3. Top Nifty 50 gainers

Shares of SBI (up 3.03 per cent), BPCL (up 2.97 per cent), BEL (up 2.80 per cent), Shriram Finance (up 2.03 per cent) and Adani Enterprises (up 1.44 per cent) ended as the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index.

4. Sectoral indices today: Media, PSU Bank shine

The Nifty Media index jumped 2.37 per cent, followed by Nifty PSU Bank, which jumped 1.56 per cent.

Nifty Bank and Financial Services indices rose 0.27 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respectively.

On the other hand, Nifty Auto (down 1.31 per cent), IT (down 0.90 per cent), and FMCG (down 0.52 per cent) ended as the top losers.

5. Most active stocks in terms of volume

Vodafone Idea (34.5 crore shares), YES Bank (14.33 crore shares), Suzlon (6.8 crore shares), Jio Financial Services (5.1 crore shares), GTL Infrastructure (5 crore shares), and IRFC (4.23 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume on the NSE.

6. Stocks at 52-week high

Some 54 stocks, including Abbott India, Narayana Hrudayalaya, and TCPL Packaging, hit fresh 52-week highs in intraday trade on the BSE.

7. Over 500 stocks at 52-week low

As many as 572 stocks, including Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Titan, hit their fresh 52-week lows in intraday trade on the BSE.

8. Stocks that rose over 15% on NSE

Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises (up 19.98 per cent), MPS (up 17.07 per cent), Ice Make Refrigeration (17 per cent), Hindustan Motors (up 15.96 per cent) and Sundaram Clayton (up 15.51 per cent) surged over 15 per cent on the NSE.

9. Stocks that crashed over 10%

Shares of Gensol Engineering (down 20 per cent) and Jindal Worldwide (down 12.71 per cent) plunged over 10 per cent on the NSE.

10. Advance-decline ratio

The advance-decline ratio of the market improved on Tuesday as 1658 stocks advanced, while 1215 advanced on the NSE on March 4. This means that for every declining stock, about 1.4 stocks advanced.

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Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.