Markets hold steady at midday after Moody’s downgrade; Auto stocks lead gainers 

Benchmark indices traded marginally lower during Monday’s mid-session trading as investors continued to digest Moody’s recent downgrade of US sovereign credit rating.

The Sensex stood at 82,288.30, down 42.29 points or 0.05 per cent, while the Nifty50 traded at 25,009.95, slipping 9.85 points or 0.04 per cent from its previous close as of 12:30 PM IST.

Despite the headline indices showing weakness, broader market sentiment remained positive with BSE data showing 2,678 advancing stocks against 1,275 declines. The market also registered 104 stocks hitting 52-week highs compared to just 26 touching their 52-week lows.

Auto stocks emerged as the day’s standout performers, with Bajaj Auto leading the Nifty gainers, surging 3.14 per cent to reach ₹8,749. Other auto majors followed suit as Hero MotoCorp rose 1.26 per cent to ₹4,400 and Eicher Motors gained 1.34 per cent to trade at ₹5,583.50.

The financial sector showed resilience with Shriram Finance climbing 1.29 per cent to ₹674.10, while PowerGrid added 0.98 per cent to reach ₹303.15. The Nifty Financial Services index was up 0.46 per cent at 26,596.40, and the Bank Nifty gained 0.61 per cent to trade at 55,692.55.

On the losing side, IT stocks continued their downward trend from morning trade, with Infosys dropping 1.57 per cent to ₹1,564.90 and TCS declining 1.10 per cent to ₹3,522.10. Tata Consumer Products fell 1.36 per cent to ₹1,152.10, while Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories shed 1.11 per cent to trade at ₹1,217. Eternal led the laggards with a 1.85 per cent decline to ₹241.21.

Mid and small-cap segments outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.61 per cent to 57,409.25 and the Nifty Next 50 index climbing 0.83 per cent to 67,634.75.

Market breadth remained positive with 333 stocks hitting upper circuit limits versus 176 stocks locked in lower circuits, indicating underlying strength despite the main indices trading lower.

Trading volumes remained robust across key counters, with Infosys seeing transactions worth ₹49,764.16 lakhs on 31.70 lakh shares traded, while Bajaj Auto recorded volume of ₹26,695.89 lakhs.

Investor focus remains on upcoming quarterly results from major companies and ongoing global developments, particularly how markets continue to react to the US credit rating downgrade that initially dampened sentiment at today’s opening.

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Published on May 19, 2025