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Benchmark indices ended the week in red after three consecutive sessions of gains amid volatility.
Market opened on a volatile note despite positive global cues as concerns related to rising Omicron cases spooked investors. Indices closed lower as market witnessed selling pressure across multiple counters.
The BSE Sensex closed at 57,124.31, down 190.97 points or 0.33 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 57,623.69 and a low of 56,813.42. The Nifty 50 closed at 17,003.75, down 68.85 points or 0.4 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 17,155.60 and a low of 16,909.60.
Breadth favours decliners
The market breadth turned negative with 1,751 stocks declining on the BSE as against 1,573 advanced while 102 remained unchanged. Furthermore, 521 stocks hit the upper circuit as compared to the 135 stocks that were locked in the lower circuit. Besides, 293 stocks touched a 52-week high level and 18 touched a 52-week low
S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities said, “A range-bound day of trading ahead of Christmas to end the week as this month quite clearly belonged to the IT sector which stood tall amidst extreme volatility as cost-push inflation across sectors is keeping street worried on the impact in the hands of the consumer.”
“While buoyancy in exports and tax collections coupled with the success of the PLI schemes are positives, there are many sectors where consolidation is waiting to happen which is where longer term investors need to focus in the present corrective phase,” Ranganathan said.
HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, SBI Life, Asian Paints and Wipro were the top gainers on the Nifty 50, while Grasim, NTPC, Eicher Motors, ONGC and M&M were the top laggards.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd said, “Markets started the week with correction amid concerns of rising Omicron variant cases and increasing hawkishness from global Central Banks. In line with global markets, the domestic markets recovered some losses during the week. BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 ended the week almost flat.”
“While the US 10-year treasury yield remained broadly stable, oil prices have again started to move higher. So far this month, FII continues to be a net seller in the Indian market. Apart from inflation and global Central Bank announcements, global and domestic markets will continue to keep track of the Omicron variant spread,” added Chouhan.
IT in focus
On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty IT closed in the red. Auto, financials, realty, pharma and oil & gas stocks dragged.
Nifty IT closed 0.98 per cent higher.
Nifty PSU Bank closed nearly 2 per cent lower while Nifty Realty was down nearly 1.5 per cent. Nifty Auto, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare Index closed over 1 per cent lower each. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas were down nearly 1 per cent each.
Broader indices
Broader market also witnessed selling pressure with broader indices closing in the red.
Nifty Midcap 50 was down 1.10 per cent at closing while Nifty Smallcap 50 was down 0.77 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was down 1.15 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was down 0.60 per cent.
The volatility index rose 2.03 per cent to 16.15.
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