Sensex ends 127 points lower, Nifty holds above 17,350; RIL top drag

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Domestic equity benchmarks ended in the red on Monday dragged by sell-off in index heavyweights RIL, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and HUL. Sensex ended 127.31 points or 0.22% lower at 58,177.76, while Nifty settled at 17,355.30, down 13.95 points or 0.08%.

“Indices remained rangebound in trade today after a stellar run in Index stocks during the past few weeks making India one of the best-performing markets globally last month. Action however was seen in select Small & Midcap names as consolidation in several sectors have benefited select companies who have used the Pandemic to gain share. Market Participants were however picking their spaces as valuations are pricey with several stocks trading at 3.5x price to book,” S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

Gainers & losers

Top gainers & losers on the Sensex.

Sectoral strand

Sectoral indices on the NSE ended mixed. Nifty Media, closing over 1% higher, was the top sectoral gainer followed by Nifty Metal, Nifty IT and Nifty Realty. On the other hand, Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were among the laggards.

Broader market

The broader market bucked the trend and outperformed headline indices. After hitting a new peak of 24,804 during the day, BSE MidCap index settled at record 24,783, up 78 points or 0.32%. Likewise, the BSE SmallCap index rose 221 points or 0.80% to 27,866. Earlier in the day it scaled a lifetime high of 27,880.

Overall, market breadth was positive as 1,720 shares advanced on the BSE, while 1,543 declined and 205 remained unchanged.

Economy

India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose 11.5% on a year-on-year basis in July 2021. But slowed down as against 13.5% in June 2021. The slowdown in IIP on a sequential basis was on the back of deceleration manufacturing, along with mining despite easing pandemic-related restrictions. For July 2021, the quick estimates of IIP, with base 2011-12 stands at 131.4, a statement by the Statistics and Programme Implementation Ministry said. The IIP for the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors for July stood at 104.6, 130.9 and 184.7, respectively.

Global markets

Shares in Europe opened higher while most Asian stocks advanced on Monday, 13 September 2021. with investors continuing to weigh up the European Central Bank’s latest policy decision and inflation data.

Investors digested the ECB’s decision last week to slow down bond-buying under its pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) in response to higher inflation and stronger GDP growth across the Eurozone. The ECB also modestly revised up its medium-term inflation forecasts, a move that followed data showing Eurozone inflation notched a decade high of 3% in August.

In Asia, Chinese technology stocks were under pressure after a report that China is seeking to break up Ant Group Co.’s Alipay and create a separate app for its loan business. Trade tension is also in the spotlight again after the Biden administration was said to be reportedly weighing a new probe into Chinese subsidies.

Elsewhere, North Korea said it successfully test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile, ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

In the US, stocks ended lower on Friday as investors weighed signs of higher inflation, while Apple Inc tumbled following an unfavourable court ruling related to its app store.