Stock Market Today Highlights: The Indian stock market closed sharply lower on Thursday, February 19, amid heavy selling across sectors.
Sensex fell 1,236.11 points to close at 82,498.14; Nifty 50 fell 365 points to 25,454.35
The decline decisively wiped out the gains of the last three sessions.
All 16 major sectors saw declines, with small- and mid-cap stocks falling 1.3% and 1.6% respectively, ending their three-day winning streak.
Key indices Sensex and Nifty 50 opened higher, but early gains were pared by sharp selling in realty, auto, FMCG and metal and financial stocks.
Sensex The broader Sensex opened 235.57 points or 0.28% higher at 83,969.82, while the Nifty 50 opened 54.00 points or 0.21% higher at 25,873.35.
However, the bears tightened their grip and the Sensex fell by over 1,100 points. nifty 50 Slipped below 25,500 level.
Broader markets also weighed on sentiment, as Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices fell more than 1% each.
All sectoral indices were trading in the red with Nifty Realty, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Auto and Nifty Media falling the most.
Globally, Asian markets traded higher, with South Korea's Kospi index hitting a new record high. On Wall Street overnight, all three major indices of the US stock market closed with gains led by gains in technology stocks.
Why is the stock market falling?
Despite strong global cues on Thursday, domestic benchmark indices fell by more than half a per cent. Here are the major reasons why Indians stock market fell Today.
Firstly, investors opted for profit-booking after three consecutive sessions of rally. With Q3 results season coming to an end on the back of key macro triggers including Budget, India-US deal and RBI policy, the market is witnessing stock-specific action amid lack of fresh domestic triggers.
Secondly, minutes of the US Federal Reserve's January meeting revealed that officials are divided on the path forward for interest rates, with many policymakers keeping the option of a rate hike on the table.
Technically, Nifty 50 faced resistance in the area of 25,850 – 25,900 levels, with selling pressure seen.
Gold and silver prices today
In the commodity market, gold and silver prices rose with gains compared to the previous session. Gold prices rose as lingering tensions between the United States and Iran pushed gold into safe havens while investors evaluated the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.
The US dollar strengthened ahead of a key US inflation report later this week. place gold prices US gold futures for April delivery rose 0.7% to $5,012.83 an ounce, while US gold futures for April delivery were up 0.4% at $5,031.20. place price of silver rose 2.7% to $79.24 an ounce.
mcx gold rate Today April futures contracts opened with a decline ₹629, or 0.40%, at ₹Rs 1,55,132 per 10 grams as against its previous closing price. ₹Level of 1,55,761. mcx silver price March futures contracts opened lower ₹1,829, or 0.74%, at ₹Compared to the previous closing price it is Rs 2,42,439 per kg ₹2,44,268 levels.
However, precious metal prices recovered from losses and traded higher. Gold prices on MCX rose by 0.6%, while silver prices on MCX rose by more than 1%.
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