Late selling drags Sensex 884 pts lower from intraday high; ends 77 pts down

Even as there was weakness in largecap stocks, buying was seen in broader markets. IT and pharma stocks were in demand. However, banks and auto stocks were under pressure.

The 30-share pack Sensex declined 76.71 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 57,200.23. The index plunged 884 points from the day’s high. Its broader peer NSE Nifty50 declined 8.20 points or 0.05 per cent to 17,101.95.

“After the decent opening post yesterday’s weak closing, domestic bourses again staged a quick selloff, tracking weak European trend. Policy tightening by the US Fed and rising geopolitical tensions in Ukraine coloured global sentiments,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.


Market at a glance:

• Dr Reddy’s Labs fell 1 per cent after Q3 PAT, revenue slides QoQ
• Adani Wilmar IPO: Issue subscribed 1.04 times so far
• Route Mobile zooms 8 per cent as Q3 net profit rises 28 per cent
• Indus Towers gains 1 per cent after strong Q3 show
• India VIX, a barometer of volatility, further slides 2 per cent

Among the bluechip names, NTPC was the top gainer, rising 3.89 per cent. UPL, Sun Pharma, Tata Consumer, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, M&M, Indian Oil and Bharti Airtel were other gainers of the day.
Maruti Suzuki was the top loser in the Nifty50 pack for another day, falling 3.21 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finserv were other stocks that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended higher, outperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap rose 0.95 per cent and Nifty Midcap advanced 1.5 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended up 0.30 per cent.

Route Mobile, CanFin Homes, SpiceJet, Laurus Labs, Coforge and Bata India were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 5-9 per cent.

Chambal Fertilisers, Thyrocare Technologies, JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, TVS Motor, RBL Bank and Prestige Estate Projects were major losers from broader market space, falling in the range of 2-5 per cent.

Sectoral indices ended mixed on NSE. Nifty IT index climbed 1.13 per cent, followed by Nifty Pharma that added 1.05 per cent. Nifty Media and Nifty Realty indices were other gainers. Nifty Bank index was the top loser, down 0.77 per cent.

Market breadth was in favour of gainers as 1,988 stocks ended in the green, while 1,365 names settled with cuts. As many as 167 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 13 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 410 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 295 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading lower. London-based FTSE dipped 1.07 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt dropped 1.44 per cent and 1.66 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia ended with gains while the rest of the market registered losses.