Stock Markets Close Flat After Initial Gains

Stock markets began Monday's trading session with a surge, but both indices experienced selling pressure, resulting in divergent closing trends. The Nifty index ended with a slight decline of 33 points at 22,442.65, while the Sensex marginally gained, closing up by 17 points at 73,895.

According to Ajay Bagga, a Banking and Market expert, "Today's price action was primarily influenced by domestic cues. Despite absorbing most of the downside by the end of the day, we anticipate improved price action for the remainder of the week." Bagga noted that despite upbeat global cues and positive performances in Asian and European markets, Indian markets faced renewed selling pressure, attributed to more stringent RBI provisioning norms for project finance, potentially impacting credit growth and capital adequacy for relevant lenders.

Both the Nifty and Sensex traded within a range, influenced by underperformance in PSU banks due to tighter lending norms on projects under development by the RBI. Broader indices also experienced significant selling pressure driven by valuation concerns and profit booking.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, commented, "Globally, weaker US payroll data has heightened expectations of potential FED rate cuts. Investors are closely monitoring this week's FED speakers for insights into future monetary policy."

In the Nifty 50 index, 29 shares declined, while 21 shares advanced by closing time. Britannia emerged as the top gainer, surging approximately 6 per cent to close at Rs 5026, while Kotak Bank also rallied, gaining over 5 per cent to Rs 1624 following the announcement of quarterly results. However, Titan shares declined by over 7 per cent amid investor selling pressure, landing in the top loser list of Nifty 50.

Experts noted that markets faced pressure following lower-than-expected US jobs data for April, indicating a weakening labor market and slowing economy. US unemployment rose to 3.9 per cent in April, reigniting the possibility of a rate cut by the Fed.

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