Indian shares ended marginally lower on April 30 after a volatile session. The Sensex closed down 46.14 points or 0.06 percent at 80,242.24, while the Nifty shed 1.75 points or 0.01 percent to end at 24,334.20. Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Life, Bharti Airtel, SBI Life Insurance, and Power Grid Corp were among the top gainers.
On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Trent, Tata Motors, and SBI led the losers. The Realty index outperformed, rising nearly 2 percent, and the Telecom index gained 1 percent. However, the media and PSU Bank indices fell by 2 percent each, while the IT, Banking, consumer durables, and capital goods indices declined by 0.5 percent each.
The BSE Midcap index decreased by 0.7 percent, and the BSE Smallcap index dropped 1.7 percent. Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted that the market experienced profit booking at higher levels. He pointed out that the indices are facing selling pressure near the 24,450/80,500 resistance zone and have formed a double top pattern on intraday charts, indicating temporary weakness.
Market faces selling pressure amid volatility
Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking, remarked that markets remained subdued and ended flat, with sectoral trends showing mixed results. The real estate and pharmaceutical sectors demonstrated strength, while the energy and banking sectors edged lower.
Broader markets experienced more pronounced pressure, with mid-cap and small-cap indices declining by 0.9% to 2%. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, attributed the market’s overall positive performance this month to reduced tariff risks, a potential US-India trade deal, and strong inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). However, he cautioned that rising tensions between India and Pakistan, along with muted Q4 results, could cap momentum in the near term.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, mentioned the Nifty continues to consolidate within a narrow range, with resistance at 24,550. He noted the index is sustaining above the critical 20 EMA, indicating a bullish trend. Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst at Bonanza, highlighted the impact of geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan on investor sentiment, leading to cautious trading.
Investors are also closely watching corporate earnings, US-India trade talks, and global developments. In the currency market, the Indian rupee ended 76 paise higher at 84.49 per dollar, compared to the previous close of 85.25.
