Benchmark indices closed lower on Monday led by losses in index heavyweights ICICI Bank, ITC and Reliance Industries amid largely weak Asian markets. Sensex fell 170.89 points or 0.28 per cent to end at 61,624.15. During the day, the index hit a low of 61,572.03 and a high of 61,916.24. Nifty dipped 20.55 points or 0.11 per cent to close at 18,329.15. Dr Reddy’s (3.94%), ITC (2.57%), Hindustan Unilever (1.83%), State Bank of India (1.42%) , ICICI Bank (1.32%) and Nestle (1.29%) were among the top Sensex losers.
Kotak Mahindra Bank (1.27%) , Tata Steel (1.07%) , Power Grid (1.05%) , IndusInd Bank (1.04%) , Infosys (0.89%) , and HCL Tech (0.76%) were the top Sensex gainers.
Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking said, “Markets started the week on a muted note and ended almost unchanged, taking a breather after the recent surge. After the initial uptick, the Nifty index hovered in a narrow band and finally settled around the day’s low to close at 18,332 levels. Meanwhile, a mixed trend on the sectoral front kept the participants busy wherein metal, realty and IT posted decent gains. The broader indices also failed to attract much traction and ended flat to marginally in the green. Though we are just inches away from the record high, the absence of momentum is keeping the participants, especially traders, on their toes. Besides, the lack of broader participation is further adding to their worries. Amid all, we reiterate our view to focus on identifying the top performers from across sectors and utilise intermediate pauses & dips to add them gradually.”
Market cap of BSE listed firms stood at Rs 284.82 lakh crore in trade today. Market breadth was negative with 1,718 shares closing higher against 1,899 stocks falling on BSE. 152 shares were unchanged. Mid cap and small cap indices on BSE rose 13 points and 71 points, respectively.
Capital goods and consumer durables shares were the top sectoral losers with their BSE indices falling 221 points and 166 points, respectively. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Friday as they bought shares worth Rs 3,958.23 crore, as per exchange data.
Previous session
The Indian equity market closed higher on Friday following a strong rally in global markets. Slowing of consumer inflation in the US buoyed sentiment on key indices across the world. Strong buying in IT and metal stocks also supported sentiment. Sensex zoomed 1181 points to end at 61,795 and Nifty climbed 321 points to 18,349. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 22 ended in green.
Global markets
In Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai ended lower, while Hong Kong settled higher. Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the positive territory in the afternoon session. Wall Street had ended higher on Friday. International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.16 per cent lower at $95.84 per barrel.
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