NEW DELHI: After a day of hiatus, benchmark indices were back in the red on Thursday as the US Federal Reserve spooked markets by announcing a timeline to raise interest rates. But some buying in the afternoon gave hope to bulls.
Value stocks made a comeback with the PSU Bank index rallying over 5 per cent. The market was well supported by auto stocks to stage a smart recovery. At the same time, IT and pharma stocks witnessed profit-taking, Textile stocks were sought after in the broader market.
The 30-share pack Sensex declined 581.21 points or 1 per cent to close at 57,276.94. The index recovered 838 points from the day’s low. Its broader peer NSE Nifty declined 167.80 points or 0.97 per cent to 17,110.15.
“The Indian market was affected due to the weak performance of the global market. The global market is looking at the developments of Ukraine. Any moderation in the geo-political situation will lead to bottom fishing,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“However, the domestic trend will be muted in the short-term considering the budget and state elections outcome. Systematic investment method should be a better strategy in this situation,” he added.
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- Torrent Pharma slumps 15 per cent after disappointing Q3 numbers
- SRF slips 5 per cent as the rise in Q3 net profit fails to cheer investors
- Adani Wilmar IPO: Issue subscribed 46 per cent so far on Day 1
Among the bluechip names, Axis Bank was the top gainer, rising 3.28 per cent. SBI, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Indian Oil, Tata Motors and Indian Bank were other gainers of the day.
HCL Tech was the top loser in the Nifty pack for another day, falling 3.93 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy’s Labs, TCS, Wipro, Divi’s Labs, Titan, UPL and Hero MotoCorp were other stocks that ended in the red.
Broader market indices ended lower, in line with their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap index fell 0.73 per cent and Nifty Midcap dropped 1.05 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended down 1.03 per cent.
Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, MMTC, Bharat Dynamics and Suzlon Energy were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 5-10 per cent.
Tanla Platforms, Happiest Minds, Route Mobile, IndiaMart InterMesh, Coforge and Dalmia Bharat were major losers from broader market space, falling in the range of 4-10 per cent.
Sectoral indices ended mixed on NSE. Nifty PSU Bank index climbed over 5 per cent, followed by less than a per cent gains in Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Auto. Nifty IT index was the biggest loser, down 3.55 per cent followed by 1.87 per cent cut in Nifty Pharma.
Market breadth was in favour of losers as 1,480 stocks ended in the green, while 1,884 names settled with cuts. As many as 156 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 28 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 315 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 390 lower circuit limits.
European markets were trading mixed. London-based FTSE added 0.46 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt dropped 0.06 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively. In Asia, barring Indonesia which rose 0.16 per cent, all of the markets ended in the red.
