Sensex down over 1,000 points intraday, Nifty below 16,600

The benchmark indices were trading over 1 per cent lower in the afternoon session on Wednesday.

The market opened on a negative note, tracking the sell-off in global markets amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Investors remained concerned about rising crude oil prices. Indices extended losses in the first half, dragged by financials, auto and pharma stocks.

At 1:01 pm, the BSE Sensex was trading at 55,215.11, down 1032.17 points or 1.84 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 55,755.09 and a low of 55,020.10. The Nifty 50 was trading at 16,542.15, down 251.75 points or 1.5 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 16,678.50 and a low of 16,478.65.

Coal India, Hindalco, Tata Steel, HDFC Life and SBI Life were the top gainers on the Nifty 50, while Maruti, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy’s, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were the top laggards. 

Further, GDP estimates of 5.4 per cent (lower than street expectation) for Q3 and the revision of FY22 GDP lower to 8.9 per cent by the Ministry of Statistics from 9.2 per cent has impacted investor sentiments. 

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said, “Crude skyrocketing to $110 is a major shock to the economy. After the elections in March petroleum product prices will rise sharply even if the govt goes for an excise cut. Q3 GDP growth at 5.4 per cent came lower than expected. This slowdown is likely to be extended, going forward. As things stand now, India’s GDP growth for FY 23 will be lower and inflation higher than estimates. This is negative for the stock market.”

Separately, the manufacturing sector recorded a strong performance in February as the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 54.9 in February from 54 in January. However, this has not resulted in fresh job creation, rather the number has fallen.

Metals shine

On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Metals, Nifty Media and Nifty Oil & Gas were in the red. 

Nifty Metals was up nearly 4 per cent, while Nifty Media and Nifty Oil & Gas were up over 1 per cent each.

Meanwhile, Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank were down over 3 per cent each. Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Auto were down nearly 3 per cent each. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Pharma were trading nearly 2 per cent lower, while the Nifty Healthcare Index was down 1.5 per cent. Nifty Realty was down 1.4 per cent.

Broader indices

As for the broader indices, midcaps faced pressure, while smallcaps managed to retain gains. The Nifty Midcap 50 was down around 0.6 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 50 was up nearly 1 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was down nearly 0.5 per cent, while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.2 per cent.

At 1 pm, the volatility index rose around 5 per cent to trade near 30.

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