Sensex gyrates 744 pts, ends 361 pts down; Nifty below 17K; HUL, ITC shine

CLOSING BELL: For better part of the day, equity markets roiled in global rout as fears of a contagion banking sector failure soured sentiment

Sensex gyrates 744 pts, ends 361 pts down; Nifty below 17K; HUL, ITC shine

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: Fag-end buying in FMCG and select bank stocks, coupled with reports of proposals to halt Ukraine war, lifted benchmark indices sharply off lows, helping them recoup more than half of their intra-day losses. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 361 points, or 0.62 per cent, to end at 57,629 levels on Monday, while the Nifty50 settled below the 17,000-mark at 16,988, lower by 112 points or 0.65 per cent. The indices rebounded from their intra-day lows of 57,085, and 16,828, respectively.

However, for better part of the day, equity markets roiled in global rout as fears of a contagion banking sector failure soured sentiment. Despite Swiss giant, UBS, agreeing to but Credit Suisse for over $3 billion, investors remained averse of risky assets. Moreover, a drop in crude oil prices (Brent is now hovering around $70 per barrel), also failed to soothe investors' nerves.

ALSO READ: Top 5 factors behind Monday's market rout

The pain was deeper in the broader market with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices sliding 1 per cent each. Volatility index, India VIX, too surged 8 per cent today.

Meanwhile, the broad-based selling hurt metal and PSU banks the most with their respective indices on the NSE dropping over 2 per cent, and 1.7 per cent, respectively. The Nifty FMCG index was the only gainer, up 0.8 per cent.

Gainers & losers

Adani nterprises, Bajaj Finserv, Hindalco, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Wipro, Tata Motors, SBI, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Tech M, HCL Tech, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance, L&T, Infosys, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, UPL, and Apollo Hospitals declined in the range of 1 per cent and 4 per cent.

On the upside, HUL, BPCL, ITC, Nestle India, Grasim, Titan, Divis Lab, Kotak Bank, Axis bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Life, and Sun Pharma were the only large-cap gainers, gaining up to 2.6 per cent.

'Drop in oil prices temporary'

The 10 per cent fall in crude oil prices in the last 7 days – from $80.6 per barrel (Brent oil) on March 13 to $72.4 now – is likely to be temporary, believe analysts, who expect them to bounce back once the banking sector crisis in the US and Europe is fully contained. READ MORE

4:17 PM

COMMENT:: Markets fall amid fear of contagion of the financial crisis

"The fear of contagion of the financial crisis has kept investors away from the equity markets as the global market faces numerous hurdles. Despite Swiss regulators' intervention to protect the global financial system, investor sentiment remained shaky. The market is now awaiting the outcome of the Fed meeting to see how they will respond to the ongoing crisis, particularly in terms of rate hikes. Investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates by 0–25 basis points."

- Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

4:16 PM

Bank Nifty:: Index remains in 'Buy' mode as long as it holds 39,000

"The BANK NIFTY bulls managed to hold the support of 39,000 and formed a hammer pattern on the daily chart. The index remains in buy mode as long as it holds the support of 39,000 on a closing basis. The immediate upside hurdle is visible at the 39,700 - 39,800 zone and a break above this will lead to further short covering on the upside."

- Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

4:15 PM

COMMENT:: Nifty may trade in the 16,900 - 17,200 range

"The Nifty Index held its support at 16,800 and swiftly bounced back today. Today's rebound suggests that traders will definitely make an attempt for Nifty to cross its 17,000 resistance in the next one or two days as the Put side OI has not reduced at the 17,000 level for the March expiry. Also a very important point, Nifty has not yet closed below its Weekly trend channel and is constantly forming candles with long bottom wicks suggesting exhaustion in selling and a technical pullback possibility. The highest Call writers for this week's expiry is at the 17,200 level and the highest Put writers are seen at the 16,900 mark, which should be the range for tomorrow as well."

- Rahul Ghose, Founder & CEO – Hedged, an algorithm-powered advisory platform

4:07 PM

Reliance, Wipro, Jubilant FoodWorks, Crompton Greaves hit 52-week lows

Max Financial, Mphasis, Emami, HDFC AMC, Pfizer, Network18, Godrej Agrovet, Laurus Labs and Motilal Oswal Financial were among 34 stocks from the S&P BSE 500 index hit their respective 52-week lows. READ MORE

4:06 PM

Adani Green rises in a weak market; stock zooms 94% in 13 days

On March 2, 2023, GQG Partners, a leading US based Global Equity investment boutique, purchased 55.6 million equity shares of AGEL for Rs 2,806 crore at price of Rs 504.60 per share. READ MORE

4:04 PM

Sunflag Iron up 15% in two days on acquiring 11.89% stake in Lloyds Metals

LMEL on March 16, converted and allotted the 0% 60 million OFCD's in to 60 million equity shares, representing 11.89% in the total voting equity share capital of LMEL to Sunflag Iron. READ MORE

4:02 PM

Shipping Corporation gains 2%; fixes March 31 as record date for demerger

The Government of India is in the process of strategic disinvestment of its equity stake in SCI together with transfer of management control. READ MORE