Equity markets ended the last trading session of the financial year 2020-21 (FY21) on a tepid note as profit-booking in the private banking and IT sector outweighed buying in PSU banking, FMCG, and realty sectors. The headline S&P BSE Sensex settled the day at 49,509 levels, down 627 points or 1.25 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 16,691 levels, after erasing 154 points or 1 per cent.
20 of the 30 constituents on the Sensex ended the day in the red with HDFC Bank, HDFC, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and Bajaj Finance leading the list of losers. On the Nifty, the list also included the likes of Hero MotoCorp, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, and Coal India. All these stocks were down in the range of 1 per cent to 5 per cent.
On the upside, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, SBI, HUL, Tata Motors, UPL, and Grasim surged up to 4 per cent.
The overall market breadth remained neck and neck amid buying in broader markets. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.07 per cenr higher while the S&P BSE SmallCap inndex advnced 0.52 per cent.
Global markets
Global stocks wavered on Wednesday while the safe-haven dollar held near five-month highs as Treasury yields resumed their upward march before US President Joe Biden announces a multitrillion-dollar plan to rebuild America’s infrastructure.
Europe's regional STOXX 600 index was up 0.2 per cent, while Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.1 per cent.
In Asia, MSCI’s All Country World Index, which tracks stocks across 49 countries, traded 0.1 per cent lower. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan fell 0.3 per cent, its first monthly loss in five months.
China's blue-chip index sank 0.9 per cent and Japan's Nikkei slid 0.9 per cent as investors sold financial shares amid growing uncertainty over the fallout from the margin calls that brought down Archegos Capital.
 "Market Wrap, March 31: Here's all that happened in the markets today")
