The Indian stock market witnessed a sharp sell off on January 20 as heavy selling pressure in key financial and commodity stocks pulled benchmark indices decisively lower. Weak global cues and cautious investor sentiment ahead of key macro developments kept traders on the defensive through the session, resulting in a broad based decline across sectors. The Sensex and Nifty closed significantly lower, with losses accelerating in the second half of the day as large cap stocks faced sustained profit booking.
Among the biggest drags on the market was Bajaj Finance, which slipped close to four percent after remaining under pressure for most of the session. Investors appeared cautious on non banking financial stocks, leading to widespread selling across the segment. Eternal also ended the day with losses of around four percent, making it one of the top losers as selling intensified amid weak broader market sentiment. Jio Financial Services was another notable casualty, sliding nearly four percent as financial stocks failed to find support despite occasional intraday recoveries.
Coal India also featured prominently among the losers, declining about three percent as commodity linked stocks remained under pressure. The fall in Coal India added to the weakness in the energy and metal space, which struggled to attract buyers throughout the day. Other heavyweight stocks from IT, pharma and capital goods sectors also closed lower, contributing to the overall negative tone in the market.
On the other hand, gainers were limited and modest in comparison to the sharp losses seen elsewhere. Select defensive stocks such as Hindustan Unilever and NTPC managed to end marginally higher, offering little support to the indices. A few banking and healthcare names also posted small gains, but their impact was not enough to offset the heavy losses in financials and commodities.
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