Final Trade: Sensex falls 548 points, Nifty settles lower at 23,382

Indian equities in Monday's session tracking weak global cues ended lower for the fourth consecutive session in a highly volatile trade. At the close, the 30-share BSE Sensex lost 0.7 per cent or 548.39 points to close at 77,311.8, while the NSE Nifty50 ended with a drag of 0.76 per cent or 178.35 points at 23,381.6. Meanwhile, broader markets ended sharply lower with a drag of over 2 per cent each.

Sectorally, it was a sea of red with all the sectors ending with a cut, with realty and metal stocks leading the losses. The US President Donald Trump announced that he will levy a 25 per cent import tax on all steel and aluminium into the US.  Trump's latest tariffs are viewed as a real setback for the domestic steel and aluminium industries.

From within the Nifty50 pack, top gainers included stocks like Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Britannia, Tata Consumer Products and HCL Technologies, while laggards included stocks like Trent, Power Grid Corporation, Tata Steel, Titan and ONGC.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said, "The US tariff threats continued to impact the market sentiment. Domestic yield is inching higher as investors stay cautious on riskier assets and navigate their investments to safe haven assets like gold. On the earnings front, the companies are facing downgrades in estimates due to a weak demand environment, margin pressure, and a cautious near-term outlook."

Key stocks in focus 

Eicher Motors: Ahead of its Q3 earnings later today, the stock ended with a drag of over 1 per cent at Rs 5,310.7 apiece on the BSE.

Apollo Hospitals: Shares of the hospital company ended on a muted note in today's trade ahead of its December quarter results today at Rs 6,766, down 0.3 per cent.

Trent: Trent shares continued their downward trajectory and settled 5 per cent lower at Rs 5,194.3 per share on the BSE.

Technicals

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said, "The decline continues in the headline index as it has been falling after forming a lower top on the daily chart. Sentiment has weakened further after Nifty dropped below the 21EMA. Additionally, the RSI has entered a bearish crossover. In the short term, the trend may worsen below 23,350, with the potential to fall toward 23,000 if it sustains below this level. On the higher end, resistance is seen at 23,550."

European markets 

European markets on the first day of the week traded on a posiitve note, shrugging off the US President Donald Trump's latest trade tariff threat.