MARKET: Sensex tumbles 600 pts on surging Covid cases; Nifty ends at 11,730

All that happened in the markets today

The domestic equity market tumbled around 1.5 per cent on Wednesday as fears of strict lockdown measures in many European countries spooked investors after coronavirus cases surged at a rapid pace. Selling was witnessed across-the-board with financial stocks taking the biggest knock. The gauge for volatility, India VIX, rose nearly 5 per cent to 23.2 levels. READ MORE

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 600 points to 39,922 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 11,730, down 160 points, or 1.34 per cent.

On the NSE, all the sectoral indices ended in the red. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended 0.76 per cent lower at 14,976 levels while the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,814, down 0.93 per cent.

Global markets

Shares around the world tumbled on Wednesday as coronavirus infections grew rapidly in Europe and the United States, igniting fears of possible strict lockdown measures that could damage already fragile economic recoveries.

German shares slumped 3.2 per cent to their lowest since June, after a report Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted to close restaurants and bars to curb new infections.

In Europe, automakers and banks led the losses, falling 4.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively.

Wall Street futures lost 1.3-1.6 per cent.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:10 PM

MARKET COMMENT | Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Indian markets had started the week on a strong note due to the announcement of overwhelming Q2 result and in anticipation of increased FII inflows owing to increase in India’s weightage in MSCI index. It was going to be difficult to maintain this trend since the global market was turning cautious due to rising Covid cases worldwide, uncertainties of the US election and stimulus. After the initial rush, we are falling in tandem with the weak global trend as the world’s economic recovery will slow down this quarter with implications on world equities. While domestically, the market is watching the developments in the Bihar assembly election.

3:43 PM

SECTOR WATCH | Nifty Bank tumbles over 2% to 24,232.50 levels

3:42 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE | Gainers and losers on the BSE Sensex

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 600 points, or 1.48 per cent to settle at 39,922 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 11,730 levels, down 160 points, or 1.34 per cent.

3:29 PM

MARKET CHECK

3:25 PM

Top losers on the BSE at this hour

3:17 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW | Centrum Broking on M&M Financial Services

RATING: BUY | TARGET PRICE: Rs 165

MMFS earnings were largely in-line. NII came in as expected though AuM growth was lower at 2.6% YoY. NIM was protected as reduction in funding cost balanced lower yields. Higher other income was offset by a rise in provisions while positive surprise on opex continues. CE improved to 82% in Sept-20 compared to 76% in June’20 (normal CE of ~87%) and of the 75% morat-1 customers, 70% have paid at least 1-2 instalments. Of the 20lac active customers, 2.5-2.75lac have not paid a single EMI. Overall ~9% of AUM is stressed (HCVs + taxi aggregators + tourism) that could enter restructuring. Opex rationalisation continues and there was a 50bps permanent reduction in cost to assets. Tier-I ratio improved to 20.8% (15.3% in Q1FY21). Maintain multiple at 1.7x FY22 ABV with TP of Rs 165. Retain BUY.

3:11 PM

Top gainers on the BSE at this hour

2:58 PM

HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, and RIL top contributors to Sensex's 600-point plunge today

2:48 PM

NEWS ALERT | APL Apollo board approves a 5-for-1 stock split

2:48 PM

Sept Quarter Result | Piramal Enterprises reports profit up 14% YoY to Rs 628.3 crore

>> Revenue at Rs 3,301.8 crore

2:37 PM

Here's what to expect from Maruti Suzuki's Q2 results on Thursday

Maruti Suzuki is scheduled to announce its September quarter results of FY21 (Q2FY21) on Thursday, amid estimates of 12-20 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in both revenue and profit, led by increase in volumes. According to recent sales data, Maruti sold 3.9 lakh units, comprising 3.70 lakh units in domestic and 22,511 units in exports, during the quarter under review. In comparison, the company had sold 3.38 lakh units in the year-ago quarter and 76,599 units in Q1FY21. READ MORE

2:27 PM

Bihar elections, rising Covid cases: Here's why Sensex tanked 700 pts today

After logging decent gains in the previous session when the benchmark indices gained nearly 1 per cent, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked over 700 points, or nearly 2 per cent, to 39,775 levels during intraday deals. On the other hand, NSE's Nifty 50 index traded over 180 points, or over 1.5 per cent lower at 11,707 levels. Selling was witnessed across-the-board with financial stocks taking the biggest knock. The gauge for volatility, India VIX, rose over 4 per cent to 23 levels. READ MORE

2:16 PM

Sept Quarter Result | Marico reports consolidated profit at Rs 260 crore

>> Cons revenue at Rs 1,990 crore

>> EBITDA at Rs 389 crore, margin at 19.6%

>> One-time loss at Rs 33 crore

2:06 PM

Rupee closing

Rupee ends weaker at 73.87/$ vs Tuesday's close of 73.70 against the US dollar