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The benchmark indices recovered from their early losses but closed in the red for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, ahead of the monthly F&O expiry.
The domestic market opened on a weak note amid a global sell-off on concerns related to Chinese tech stocks, and remained volatile in the first half. It managed to recover in the second half as global stocks gained ground. A sharp recovery in metals and IT helped the indices trim losses.
The BSE Sensex, which had recorded an intraday low of 51,802.73, closed at 52,443.71, down 135.05 points or 0.26 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 52,673.69.
The Nifty 50 also closed above the 15,700 mark after slipping to 15,513.45 during the morning session. It closed at 15,709.40, down 37.05 points or 0.24 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 15,767.50.
Decliners outnumber gainers
The market breadth remained in favour of the decliners with 1,791 stocks declining versus 1,414 gaining. A total of 128 stocks remained unchanged on the BSE. While 433 stocks hit the upper circuit, 244 were locked in the lower circuit. As many as 425 stocks touched a 52-week high and 15 touched a 52-week low.
China shakes region confidence
S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities, said, "Markets opened weak and we saw a bout of panic selling as the Chinese fiasco and crackdown made the street nervous. Markets, however, recouped most of their losses in late afternoon trade despite persistent weakness in financial stocks."
Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, SBI Life, Divi’s Lab and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers on the Nifty 50, while Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Motors, M&M and Cipla were the top laggards.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, "Jitters over a Chinese clampdown and wariness over the Fed meeting outcome, continue to disturb the domestic market. However, as the global markets gained ground after the recent sell-off, losses were trimmed by the end of the day.”
“Due to a weak start to the sector’s earnings, pharma stocks continued to trade in bear’s grip, while banking, auto and realty stocks were feeble. Globally, the Fed’s comment on economic recovery, inflation and monetary policy may provide hints about tapering, which will determine the mood of the market in the near future," added Nair.
Metals shine
On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Metal and Nifty IT closed in the red. Financials, auto, pharma and realty faced pressure.
Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were down 0.76 per cent and 0.51 per cent, respectively. The Nifty Private Bank and Nifty PSU Bank were down 0.51 per cent and 1.88 per cent, respectively. Nifty Auto was down 0.93 per cent, while Nifty Realty was down 0.79 per cent. Nifty Pharma was down 0.38 per cent.
Meanwhile, Nifty Metal was up 1.22 per cent at closing, while Nifty IT was up 0.21 per cent.
Broader indices
The broader indices closed in the red as selling pressure extended to mid-cap and small-cap stocks as well.
Nifty Midcap 50 was down 0.33 per cent, while Nifty Smallcap 50 was down 0.63 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap ended flat, while the S&P BSE Smallcap was down 0.45 per cent.
The volatility index, which rose above 14 points, closed at 13.69, up 3.47 per cent, over the previous day's close.
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