MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 39 pts; Reliance Ind, SBI decline nearly 2%

All that happened in the markets today

Profit-booking across financial counters after last week's rally, and selling in select index heavyweights put lid on gains during Monday's trading session. Despite witnessing a sharp slide during the last trading hour, markets recovered to settle flat.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed 38.88 points, or 0.93 per cent, lower at 41,642.66 level, dragged by Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), and ITC. On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index declined 9.05 points, or 0.074 per cent, to settle at 12,262.75 level. The Sensex and Nifty50 hit an intra-day low of 41,474.61 and 12,213.25, respectively.

Shares of Reliance Industries declined as much as 2.77 per cent in the intra-day deals on the BSE on Monday after the government filed petition in the Delhi High Court (HC) seeking to block its $15 billion deal with Saudi Aramco, in view of dues of $3.5 billion in the Panna-Mukta and Tapti (PMT) oil and gas fields. The stock closed 1.88 per cent lower at Rs 1,569.3 apiece. READ MORE

At the index level, Nestle, SBI, RIL, and M&M were the top laggards on the Sensex, while Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp, HDFC, and Titan ended the day as top gainers.

On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank index slumped the most, down 1.29 per cent, while Nifty Realty and FMCG indices, each, closed nearly 0.5 per cent lower. On the upside, Nifty Media index advanced 0.7 per cent.

The broader markets settled almost flat on Monday. The S&P BSE mid-cap index slipped 0.09 per cent to 14,822.60 -mark, while the S&P BSE small-cap index erased 0.07 per cent to 13,382.03 level.

GLOBAL CUES

European shares dipped slightly on Monday after nearing a record high in the previous session, as trading thinned ahead of the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays later in the week. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 per cent, with the banking sector leading declines.

Asian markets idled near 18-month highs on Monday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hovered near its highest since June 2018, having risen 1.4 per cent last week and more than 5 per cent this month. For the final quarter of the year, it is up nearly 10 per cent so far.

(With inputs from Reuters)

3:42 PM

Sectoral trends at NSE at close

3:40 PM

Sensex heatmap at close

3:39 PM

Closing Bell

>> The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed 38.88 points, or 0.93 per cent, lower at 41,642.66 level, dragged by Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), and ITC.

>> On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index declined 9.05 points, or 0.074 per cent, to settle at 12,262.75 level.

3:29 PM

DIIs gain sway in market movement, rating agencies review firms, and more

DIIs gain sway in market movement Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) are increasingly holding a greater sway in dictating market movement. DII holding in the BSE500 universe stood at a record high of 14.4 per cent at the end of the September quarter, according to a note by Credit Suisse. READ MORE

3:18 PM

Index Contributors at this hour

3:08 PM

Federal Bank ties up with Magicbricks to recover dues from 30 big accounts

Private sector lender Federal Bank has tied up with online real estate platform Magicbricks for listing and e-auctioning of immovable properties repossessed by it in recovery proceedings. The move is aimed at speedy recovery of the bank's impaired assets, while helping customers get the best rate in the market for their properties, Federal Bank said. READ MORE

2:55 PM

BROKERAGE RADAR | Geojit Financial Services on Escorts Ltd

CMP: Rs 623 | Target: Rs 695 | Return: 12%

We expect the volume & margin to remain under pressure. However, in view of early cyclical reversal, we rollover our valuation to FY22 and value EL at 14x FY22E EPS and upgrade our rating from reduce to Accumulate.

2:53 PM

BSE500 stocks that hit 52-week low today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK LOW	CHG(rs)	CHG(%)
DISHMAN CARBOGEN	98.10	96.35	-8.25	-7.76
G N F C	167.10	166.60	-1.10	-0.65
INDIAN BANK	104.35	104.00	-3.15	-2.93
PRISM JOHNSON	60.00	60.00	-0.60	-0.99
TCNS CLOTHING	602.30	595.00	-2.45	-0.41

» More on 52 Week Low

2:49 PM

Heatmap: S&P BSE Sensex

2:49 PM

Fortis Healthcare down 3% as 0.3% equity changes hands

2:42 PM

Market check

2:40 PM

Global Markets check

European shares dipped slightly on Monday after nearing a record high in the previous session, as trading thinned ahead of the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays later in the week.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 per cent, with the banking sector leading declines.

Asian markets idled near 18-month highs on Monday.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hovered near its highest since June 2018, having risen 1.4 per cent last week and more than 5 per cent this month. For the final quarter of the year, it is up nearly 10 per cent so far.

2:30 PM

General insurers want FDI raised to 74%, valuation remains a concern

Last week, the General Insurance Council (GIC), the representative body of general insurance, health insurance and reinsurance companies in India, met to discuss the view of insurance companies in raising the FDI. All the companies agreed on raising FDI limit to at least 74 per cent.

“Prima facie no company had reservations in increasing the FDI limit to 74 per cent,” said sources

Also several companies are in favour of 100 per cent FDI in the sector. READ MORE