Sensex, Nifty fall on Iran sanction fears

The Indian benchmark indices on Monday afternoon gave up their early

gains, as investors remained cautious amid elevated crude oil prices

and uncertainty surrounding potential fresh US sanctions on Iran.

However, selective buying in IT, Metal, and Realty stocks helped limit

the downside, with the Nifty managing to hold above the crucial 24,200

mark at close. At close, the Sensex declined 171.72 points or 0.22 per

cent to settle at 77,369.11, while the Nifty 50 fell 32.95 points or

0.14 per cent to close at 24,219.05.

The weakness was broad-based, with 11 of the 16 major Nifty sectoral

indices ending in the red. On the sectoral front, Metal, Realty,

Energy, and IT emerged as the key gainers, supported by selective

buying interest.On the downside, Banking, Financial Services, and

Media remained the key laggards, with profit booking weighing on these

sectors.

Nifty PSU Bank was the biggest sectoral laggard, falling 0.93 per

cent, Nifty Media, which declined 0.58 per cent, Nifty Financial

Services 25/50, which slipped 0.32 per cent, and Nifty Private Bank,

which fell 0.32 per cent.Nifty Auto declined 0.08 per cent, Nifty

Pharma fell 0.08 per cent, Nifty Chemicals dropped 0.10 per cent and

Nifty Healthcare ended 0.04 per cent lower. Nifty Consumer Durables

also declined 0.32 per cent, while Nifty MidSmall Healthcare fell 0.25

per cent.

The broader market delivered a mixed performance. The Nifty Midcap 100

index gained 0.13 per cent while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined

0.26 per cent, indicating selective buying in midcaps despite some

profit booking in the small cap segment.

Nagaraj Shetti, senior technical research analyst at HDFC Securities

said, “The underlying short-term trend of Nifty remains choppy. Any

weakness down to the key supports of around 24100-24000 levels could

be a buying opportunity. Any sustainable upside above the hurdle of

24300 could reverse the trend on the upside.”