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Equity market, on Tuesday, erased all gains made during early hours to end on a negative note, dragged by IT, FMCG and financial stocks. The market had rebounded sharply at opening after the government announced its decision to open Covid-19 vaccination for citizens above 18 beginning May. However, iterased the early gains during the second half amid mixed global cues while concerns related to Covid-19 cases in the country continued to dent investor sentiments.

The BSE Sensex closed at 47,705.80, down 243.62 or 0.51 per cent, after hitting an intra-day high of 48,478.34 and a low of 47,438.50. The Nifty 50, which slipped below the 14,300-mark to hit the day’s low at 14,207.30, closed at 14,296.40, down 63.05 or 0.44 per cent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, “Indian markets witnessed a bounce-back in its opening trade; however, failed to hold on to its early gains due to weak global cues and the possibility of a stricter lock-down in Maharashtra. Despite the vaccine drive kindling hopes of recovery, the trend in the market will depend on positive developments like decreasing Covid cases and lifting restrictions.”

Pharma gains

On the sectoral front, while IT, FMCG and financials lagged behind, pharma continued to gain. The Nifty IT recorded the highest losses by declining 1.37 per cent. The Nifty FMCG was down 0.64 per cent and the Nifty Financial Services 0.56 per cent. However, the Nifty Pharma was up 1.29 per cent.

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