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Mumbai, March 21 Benchmark indices closed nearly 1 per cent lower amid volatility on Monday.
Market opened on a positive note, tracking positive global cues but soon turned volatile. Indices closed lower, witnessing selling pressure across multiple counters.
The BSE Sensex closed at 57,292.49, down 571.44 points or 0.99 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 58,127.95 and a low of 57,229.08. The Nifty 50 closed at 17,117.60, down 169.45 points or 0.98 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 17,353.35 and a low of 17,096.40.
Breadth favours decliners
The market breadth turned in favour of the decliners with 1,971 stocks declining on the BSE as against 1,550 that advanced, while 149 remained unchanged. Furthermore, 17 stocks hit the upper circuit as compared to the 3 stocks that were locked in the lower circuit. Besides, 175 stocks touched a 52-week high level and 32 touched a 52-week low.
The volatility inde rose 8.90 per cent to 24.62.
According to Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers, rising oil prices and continued Ukraine crisis kept investors on edge.
“During the afternoon session, markets continued their weak trade as selling in frontline blue chip counters. Traders were also worried as India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined by $9.646 billion to $622.275 billion in the week ended March 11, the sharpest decline in nearly two years,” said Solanki.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, “With no significant improvement in the tensions between Russia & Ukraine and uncertainty in Gulf region, crude prices surged leading to a sell-off in the domestic market after the recent rally.”
“FII’s coming back to buying mode is a positive for domestic equities but rise in bulk diesel prices & inflationary pressure are bending the domestic market. Accenture’s positive earnings and strong guidance have helped Indian IT companies to be in demand, however, late selloff was witnessed,” Nair added.
Coal India, Hindalco, UPL, ONGC and HDFC Bank were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Britannia, Grasim, Tata Consumer, Shree Cement and SBI Life were the top losers.
Mitul Shah, Head Of Research at Reliance Securities said, “Domestic equities declined after a strong rally over past few sessions. Investor sentiments took a hit as reports suggested that Europe might put a ban on Russian oil imports. Moreover, Russian interest repayments are due this week, which may affect the markets in the near-term.”
“The market around the world continued watching developments on the Russia-Ukraine war, which is disrupting shipping and air freight. Markets also monitored a recent wave of Covid-19 infections in China. Both the RBI bulletin and the finance ministry’s monthly economic review talked about potential trouble spots in the economy, going forward. Market may remain volatile due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Trend in global equities, the movement of rupee against the dollar and crude oil prices will dictate trend in the near term,” added Shah.
Metals shine
On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Metal, Nifty Media and Nifty Pharma closed in the red. Financials, auto, FMCG, IT, oil & gas and realty stocks dragged.
Nifty Metal closed 1.5 per cent higher.
Meanwhile, Nifty FMCG was down nearly 2 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Auto, each closed over 1 per cent lower. Nifty IT was down 0.75 per cent while Nifty Realty was down 0.70 per cent. Nifty Oil & Gas was down 0.64 per cent.
Midcaps under pressure
In the broader market, midcaps faced increased pressure.
Nifty Midcap 50 was down 0.69 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.30 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was down 0.68 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.38 per cent.
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