ICICI Bank, L&T drag Nifty below 24,050; Sensex falls 252 points as rupee hits record low

The equity benchmark indices closed lower on Tuesday (May 5), though benchmarks recovered from the day’s lows, with the Sensex falling 252 points to 77,018 and the Nifty declining 87 points to end at 24,033.

The Nifty closed below the 24,050 mark, with ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank among the biggest drags on the index. The Nifty Bank index fell 331 points to close at 54,547, while the Nifty Midcap index outperformed and rose 105 points to 60,265.

The rupee hit a record low of 95.43 against the US dollar in Tuesday’s trade.

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From the Sensex basket, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, UltraTech Cement Ltd, Nestle India Ltd, Bajaj Finserv Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd were the major gainers. Jio Financial Services Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Coal India Ltd, Eternal Ltd, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd were the biggest laggards.

Among gainers, Mahindra & Mahindra

emerged as the top Nifty gainer, rising more than 3% after its March quarter results came in line with estimates. Marico recovered more than 6% from the day’s lows after reporting its fourth-quarter numbers.

Nifty IT was the top-gaining sectoral index, led by Larsen & Toubro Technology Services, which rose more than 2%.

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In the broader market, Tata Technologies was the top midcap gainer, jumping more than 6% after its fourth-quarter results. Aditya Birla Capital and Aurobindo Pharma were also among the top gainers on the midcap index. Wockhardt rose 8% after its fourth-quarter results.

Market breadth remained neutral, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 1:1.