Late selloff drags Sensex, Nifty lower; Paytm zooms 17%

After staying in the green for the most part of the day domestic benchmark equity indices erased gains and slipped into the negative zone on the back of fresh selling pressure in counters like Infosys, Reliance, HUL, ITC and Larsen & Toubro. At close, Sensex was down 323 points or 0.55% at 58,340, and the Nifty settled at 17,415 declining 88 points or 0.50%.

“Unable to hold onto its gains, domestic indices edged lower in today’s tumultuous session amid mixed sentiments across global peers. Despite surging inflation, the Euro-zone business activity jumped to 55.8 in November from 54.2 in October, instilling hope in investors. On the domestic front, gains in banking and financial stocks were offset by losses in oil & gas and auto sectors. The banking sector was in the radar today as the government proposed to privatise two banks along with making banking amendments for the winter session to facilitate PSB privatisation,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Sectoral strand

Among the sectoral indices Nifty Media index was the star of the day as it advanced 2% led by Zee Entertainment which settled with gains of 6.75% after Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Zee said that merger talks between the company and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) are in final stages of stitching up. While Nifty Bank surged 0.45% and Nifty Metal index ended flat with gains of 0.04%.

On the downside, Nifty IT index tanked the most and plunged 1.52%, followed by Nifty Auto index plunging 1.28%. Nifty FMCG also lost 0.99%, Nifty Pharma slipped 0.61% and Nifty Realty index was down 0.07%.

Broader markets

Volatility in the benchmark indices also saw broader markets end mixed. The BSE MidCap index slipped 145 points or 0.57% to 25,500 levels on the contrary BSE SmallCap index settled at 28,575 higher by 124 points or 0.44%.

Bulls were in charge of the markets as 1,944 shares advanced while 1,345 declined and 141 remained unchanged.

Shares of Paytm settled with gains of 17% amid bargain buying, up almost 40% from record lows.

Global markets

European stocks rose across the board on Wednesday, 24 November 2021 as investors monitored the latest data out of the euro zone and the region’s latest COVID-19 surge. Investors continued to monitor the acute COVID-19 crisis in the region this week, with more countries considering stricter restrictions and partial lockdowns to curb rising infections.

Asian stocks closed on a mixed note on Wednesday, as investors monitored the moves in US Treasury yields.