Sensex plunges 458 points, Nifty settles at 12,119; RIL, HDFC twins, SBI top drags

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended over one per cent lower on Monday after extending losses in the final hour of the trade, dragged down by HDFC twins, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India. “Indian markets opened in red following subdued global peers in Asian markets as negative news of virus outbreak continued to worry global markets amid holiday season in China. During the afternoon session, the selling further intensified amid selling across stocks primarily in large-cap segment as sentiments remained muted on back of news that India’s corporate and income tax collection for the current year is likely to fall for the first time amid a sharp fall in economic growth and cut in corporate tax rates,” Narendra Solanki, Head of Fundamental Research- Investment Services, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers said. S&P BSE Sensex ended 458 points or 1.10 per cent lower at 41,155, while broader Nifty 50 index settled at 12,119, down 129 points or 1.06 per cent.

Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India were among the top laggards on the Sensex pack, however, Mahindra and Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank gained the most.

“On the sectoral front, only the Pharma sector remained positive for the day while negative performance was led by Metals, Banking, Financial Services,” Narendra Solanki said. The Nifty Bank index dropped 404 points to end at 30,837 weighed by weakness in IndusInd Bank, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India. While, the Nifty Metal index, too, slipped over 3 per cent dragged by Vedanta, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, NMDC and Hindustan Copper. “Banknifty, too, witnessed a sharp downside in the trade. 30,600 zone is crucial for Bank Nifty and Bulls need to protect this zone. A decisive breach below the support zone would add strong pressure for the Banknifty on the downside. It is crucial for the bulls to surpass 31,450 zone for fresh momentum to build on the upside. Banknifty is at a crucial make or break situation which needs to be monitored closely,” Amit Shah, Technical Research Analyst with Indiabulls Ventures Ltd said.

“Bears dominated the session throughout however, broader markets were not as bad,” Amit Shah said. In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended 64 points or 0.40 per cent at 15,759, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled flat at 14,850.

Source: Financial Express