Defying gravity? These BSE stocks hit upper circuit even as Sensex tanked 1,708 points

Concerns over rising Covid cases in India triggered massive selling in the domestic equity market on Monday. As a result, the BSE Sensex settled 1,707.94 points, or 3.44%, down at 47,883. Likewise, the 50-share Nifty index closed 524 points, or 3.53% down at 14,310.

On the other hand, as many as 193 stocks on the BSE hit upper circuit despite weakness in the market. Some of the stocks in the list included Nureca Ltd which closed 10% up at Rs 929.10. Cinevista, Chennai Ferrous, Ejecta Marketing, Gita Renewable, Jainco Projects and Ironwood Projects stood among other players which also locked in at their upper limits.

Stocks which hit upper circuit on April 12

Source: BSE

All the sectoral indices on NSE ended in the red. Pharma stocks bucked weak market trend while PSU banks and metal shares tumbled. Tata Motors (down 9.65%), Adani Ports & SEZ (down 8.94%), Bajaj Finance (down 7.25%), ICICI Bank (down 4.58%), Reliance Industries (down 3.4%) and HDFC Bank (down 3.28%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 5.32% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index tumbled 4.81%. Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 509 shares rose and 2,478 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged.

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 13,60,56,956 with 29,36,768 deaths. India reported 12,01,009 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,70,179 deaths while 1,21,56,529 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India on Monday reported 1,68,912 new COVID-19 cases and 904 deaths in last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.

The media reported that a total lockdown may be impending in Maharashtra. With rising COVID cases, a total lockdown is mulled by state government officials. State health minister Rajesh Tope said that a decision could happen after it is discussed during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.