Sensex, Nifty decline for 2nd day as banking, auto stocks retreat

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Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower in highly volatile trade on Thursday due to selling in banking, auto and FMCG stocks amid a weak trend in global equity markets.

Extending losses for a second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended down by 89.14 points or 0.15 per cent at 57,595.68. During the day, it touched a low of 57,138.51 and a high of 57,827.99.

The broader NSE Nifty dipped 22.90 points or 0.13 per cent to settle at 17,222.75 as 27 of its components declined and 22 advanced.

“The market now lacks direction and is moving up or down on a daily basis responding to news regarding crude price, FPI flows and speculation on what the Fed might do in the coming policy meets,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

“Sensex and Nifty ended a volatile session with losses amid heightening volatility due to surge in global crude oil prices and prospects of the US Fed raising interest rate,” Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities, said.

From the 30-share pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank fell the most by 3.09 per cent, followed by Titan which declined 2.63 per cent.

HDFC Bank dropped 2.23 per cent, ICICI Bank by 1.94 per cent, and HDFC by 1.5 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra fell by 1.31 per cent and Maruti Suzuki India by 1.17 per cent.

IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Nestle, Axis Bank and State Bank of India were also among the losers.

In contrast, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories rose the most by 4.9 per cent, UltraTech Cement by 1.77 per cent, and Tech Mahindra by 1.75 per cent.

Gains in Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, NTPC, ITC, TCS and HCL Technologies Limited limited the losses in the benchmark index.

In the previous trade, the BSE barometer declined 304.48 points or 0.53 per cent while Nifty dipped 69.85 points or 0.4 per cent.

“Markets traded dull and ended marginally lower amid mixed global cues. After the initial dip, the benchmark oscillated in a narrow range,” Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

“All eyes are on the outcome of the NATO summit as it could provide the direction to the lingering Russia-Ukraine tension. Indications are in the favour of further consolidation in the index however the prevailing underperformance from the banking pack is denting sentiment,” Mishra said.

US President Joe Biden and world leaders opened the first in a trio of summits in Brussels focused on pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap index gained 0.34 per cent, while smallcap gauge went higher by 0.16 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, banking (down 1.69 per cent), consumer durables (1.58 per cent), finance (1.30 per cent) and auto (0.54 per cent) were the major drags.

“Markets lingered in negative territory for major part of the trading session but trimmed losses at the end, as positive European markets opening aided partial recovery. Global markets trend will continue to dictate sentiment as investors would not want to take bullish bets given the fragile situation globally,” Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd said.

Asian markets were mixed after losses in Wall Street as investors weighed concerns about rising inflation and slower economic growth.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 25 declined by 0.3 per cent, Seoul’s Kospi dropped 0.5 per cent while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5 per cent. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose by 0.2 per cent.

The Russian stock market also resumed limited trading under heavy curbs, almost one month after prices plunged and the market was shut down following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Trading of a limited number of stocks took place under restrictions that are meant to prevent a repeat of the massive selloff that took place February 24 in anticipation of Western economic sanctions.

International oil benchmark Brent crude surged 0.30 per cent to USD 122 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 481.33 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.