Sensex ends 86 points lower, Nifty at 14,736
In late trade benchmark Indian equity indices staged a recovery led by realty, IT FMCG, pharma stocks.
After opening with a gap down in the morning session led by fears of lockdown due to rising COVID-19 cases. Global stocks were negative as a plunge in Turkish lira made investors cautious. On an intraday basis, Sensex made a low of 49,281 tanking 577 points or 1.16%, while Nifty lost 139 points making a low of 14,597. However, in the late trade benchmark Indian equity indices staged a recovery led by realty, IT FMCG, pharma stocks.
At close, the Sensex was down 86 points or 0.17% at 49,771, and the Nifty was down 7 points or 0.05% at 14, 736.40.
IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 4%, followed by PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Sun Pharma, Infosys and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
“Domestic equities traded lower as mounting concerns pertaining to rise in COVID-19 cases in various parts of the country and resultant restrictions continued to weigh on investors sentiments,” said Binod Modi, Head – Strategy at Reliance Securities.
Among sectors, Nifty Realty gained the most rallying 2.70%. Nifty IT, Nifty Pharma, and Nifty FMCG indices added over 1.5% and the Nifty Metal index rose 0.91%. On the other hand, Nifty Bank and PSU Bank index shed 1.63%.
Market breadth was positive as 1,065 shares advanced versus 893 stocks declining whereas 327 shares remained unchanged.
The broader market outperformed benchmark indices as BSE Midcap index jumped 0.99%, while BSE Smallcap was up 0.73%.
“Notably, investors lapped-up quality midcap and small-cap stocks after recent corrections in these spaces,” he added.
Further, weak global cues and higher US bond yields kept markets nervous.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were in the red, while Shanghai ended on a positive note.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a weak note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.20 per cent lower at USD 64.40 per barrel.
With inputs from PTI.