Sensex, Nifty end lower; investors lose nearly ₹6 lakh crore in a day— 10 key highlights from Indian stock market today

The Indian stock market closed with losses on Tuesday, May 6, amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Weak global cues ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome further weighed on investor sentiment.
The Sensex closed 156 points, or 0.19 per cent, lower at 80,641, while the Nifty 50 settled with a loss of 82 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 24,379.60.
While the benchmarks ended with milder losses, the mid-cap and small-cap segments suffered deeper losses. The BSE Midcap index lost 2.16 per cent, while the Smallcap index plunged 2.33 per cent.
Due to the steep losses in the broader market, investors lost nearly ₹6 lakh crore in a single session as the overall market capitalisation of the BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly ₹421 lakh crore from over ₹427 lakh crore in the previous session.
Indian stock market: 10 key highlights from the day
Let’s take a look at 10 key highlights of the stock market today:
1. Why did the Indian stock market fall today?
Rising tensions between India and Pakistan have been weighing on sentiment. Significant uncertainty about how the situation will evolve is keeping investors on tenterhooks.
Moreover, mixed March quarter earnings have failed to give a boost to market sentiment.
“The domestic market has been consolidating in recent sessions following the strong recovery, driven by cautious sentiment amid India-Pakistan border tensions. Weak earnings growth for the current quarter has further impacted the market,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
Optimism surrounding a potential trade deal between the US and China is also fading, as there is still no clear progress on this front. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision and Chair Jerome Powell’s commentary on growth and inflation trends.
“Investors are closely monitoring India’s bilateral trade negotiations with the US. Additionally, speculation around the US Federal Reserve is drawing attention, as no rate cuts are expected in the near term, affecting global trends,” said Nair.
2. Top Nifty 50 losers today
As many as 34 stocks ended in the red in the Nifty 50 index.
Shares of Adani Enterprises (down 4.30 per cent), Jio Financial Services (down 3.68 per cent), and ETERNAL (down 3 per cent) closed as the top losers in the index.
3. Top Nifty 50 gainers today
Hero MotoCorp (up 2.48 per cent), Bharti Airtel (up 1.61 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.41 per cent) ended as the top gainers in the index.
4. Sectoral indices today
Barring Nifty Auto (up 0.17 per cent), all sectoral indices ended with losses on the NSE, with Nifty PSU Bank (down 4.84 per cent) and Realty (down 3.58 per cent) closing with massive losses.
Nifty Oil & Gas (down 1.79 per cent), Consumer Durables (down 1.68 per cent), Media (down 1.51 per cent) and Pharma (down 1.11 per cent) also ended with significant losses.
Nifty Bank dropped 1.18 per cent while the Financial Services declined 0.75 per cent.
5. YES Bank, Vodafone Idea most active stocks in terms of volume
YES Bank (48.1 crore shares), Vodafone Idea (39.8 crore shares), and GTL Infrastructure (6 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume on the NSE.
6. Nine stocks jump more than 5% on NSE
Poly Medicure, Orient Bell and CCL Products (India) were among the 9 stocks that surged more than 5 per cent on the NSE.
7. Four stocks crash 10% or more
Shares of Century Enka (down 16.70 per cent), Bank of Baroda (down 10.91 per cent), Vineet Laboratories (down 10.74 per cent) and Ksolves India (down 10 per cent) crashed at least 10 per cent on NSE.
8. Over 100 stocks hit lower circuits; 35 stocks hit upper circuits on NSE
As many as 122 stocks, including Websol Energy System, Indo Tech Transformers, Indo Farm Equipment, JITF Infralogistics and Reliance Communications, hit their lower circuits in intraday trade on the NSE.
Some 35 stocks, including Mahamaya Steel Industries, Sahana System and Orient Bell, hit their upper circuits on the NSE.
9. Advance-decline ratio
The advance-decline ratio tilted towards the decliners.
Some 2,331 stocks declined while 545 advanced and 70 remained unchanged on the NSE.
10. Nearly 80 stocks hit 52-week lows on the BSE
Hatsun Agro Product, Vedant Fashions, Kirloskar Ferrous Industries, Jai Balaji Industries and Embassy Developments were among the 78 stocks that hit their 52-week lows in intraday trade on the BSE.
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