Stock market today: Sensex today tumbles 270 points, Nifty slips below 25K in range-bound trade; IT stocks bleed

Stock market today: The Indian stock market extended its range-bound movement for the second session on Monday, May 19, and ended marginally in the red, with domestic technology stocks once again emerging as the biggest casualties. Both benchmark indices remained in a tight, consolidated range after touching a 7-month high on May 15.

While the headline indices lacked clear direction, broader markets continued to attract investor interest, mainly led by the defence and railway sectors. The Nifty 50 ended with a cut of 73 points, or 0.30%, to settle below the 25,000 mark at 25,946, while the Sensex fell by 270 points, or 0.33%, to close the session at 82,062.

The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices, however, outperformed the benchmarks, with the former ending with a gain of 0.07%, while the latter surged by 0.52%, reflecting a continued risk-on sentiment among investors.

Apart from defence and railway, textile stocks have also saw renewed buying interest from investors after India’s imposed restrictions on Bangladeshi exports of ready-made garments and several other consumer goods through land ports is aimed at ensuring fairness and equality in bilateral trade.

Sectoral Performance: IT stocks extend losing streak; realty stocks’ uptrend stretches to 4th session

Domestic technology stocks once again witnessed heavy selling pressure from Dalal Street investors amid growth concerns in their top revenue region—the U.S.—after global rating agency Moody’s downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating to Aa1 from Aaa, citing rising debt and interest costs that are “significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.”

The Nifty IT index ended the session with a decline of 1.29%, settling at 37,481. IT companies, which derive a substantial portion of their revenue from the U.S., had jumped 5.8% last week, marking the IT index’s second-biggest weekly gain in 2025.

The rating action also pushed U.S. Treasury yields higher, potentially making equities in emerging markets such as India less attractive to foreign investors. Bond yields were further boosted after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut bill was approved by a key congressional committee.

Further, U.S. consumer sentiment weakened, according to a survey released by the University of Michigan on Friday. The index of consumer sentiment dropped to 50.8, down from 52.2 in April, marking the second-lowest reading on record, behind June 2022. Other sectoral losers included Nifty Media, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty FMCG, all of which ended with cuts of up to 0.60%.

On the winning side, realty stocks emerged as the top sectoral performers, extending their winning streak to the fourth consecutive trading session, with Nifty Realty ending the session up 2.18% at the 932 level on expectations that the Indian economy could recover in the current fiscal year, potentially boosting urban consumer demand.

Meanwhile, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Metal all ended with gains ranging between 0.10% and 1.47%.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.