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Benchmark indices ended lower for the second consecutive session on Monday as Omicron fears continued to spook investors.
Market opened on a weak note, tracking negative global cues. It slumped further during closing hours, witnessing across the board selling.
The BSE Sensex closed at 56,747.14, down 949.32 points or 1.65 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 57,781.46 and a low of 56,687.62. The Nifty 50 closed at 16,912.25, down 284.45 points or 1.65 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 17,216.75 and a low of 16,891.70.
Over 2,000 stocks decline
The market breadth turned in favour of the decliners with 2,004 stocks declining on the BSE as against 1,418 that advanced while 176 remained unchanged. Furthermore, 528 stocks hit the upper circuit as compared to the 247 stocks that were locked in the lower circuit. Besides, 215 stocks touched a 52-week high level and 43 touched a 52-week low.
The volatility index rose 8.79 per cent to 20.08.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, "Ambiguity surrounding Omicron continued to dent the morale of domestic investors ahead of the important RBI policy announcement on Wednesday.”
“The domestic market is expected to be volatile as the near-term will be dominated by developments on new variant and, RBI and FED policy decisions. Market expects RBI to hold-on to the accommodative policy considering short-term uncertainties. However, a change is expected during H1 2022, which Indian market is factoring while global equities are trading mixed,” added Nair.
S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities said, "Indices started the day weak and selling intensified during Afternoon Trade with almost all sectoral indices ending in the red.”
“As the Street awaits the RBI stance on interest rates, the Nifty sold off below 17K today as Bears held upper hand on a day which saw no recovery. FII selling continued with no respite despite accumulation seen today in high quality financials by local investors,” added Ranganathan.
Only one stock UPL closed in the green. IndusInd Bank, Tata Consumer, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel and TCS were top losers.
All in red
On the sectoral front, all indices closed in red.
Nifty IT slumped nearly 3 per cent. Nifty Auto, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Healthcare Index and Nifty Oil & Gas closed nearly 2 per cent lower each.
Nifty Private Bank and Nifty PSU Bank were down 1.5 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty and Nifty Consumer DUrables were down over 1 per cent each.
Broader indices
The broader market also witnessed selling pressure with broader indices closing in the red.
Nifty Midcap 50 was down 1.21 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was down 1.85 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap closed 1.35 per cent lower each.
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