Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined for a second straight session on Monday, losing more than half a per cent due to selling in energy, banking and financials stocks amid lingering concerns over interest rates and inflation.
Reversing its early gains, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 311.03 points or 0.51 per cent at 60,691.54 as 18 of its scrips declined. The index opened higher at 61,112.84 and gained further 290 points to hit the day’s high of 61,290.19.
However, selling in index major Reliance Industries, HDFC twins, ICICI Bank Maruti and Kotak Bank dragged down the barometer to a low of 60,607.02.
The NSE Nifty fell 99.60 points or 0.56 per cent to end at 17,844.60 as 30 of its constituents declined while 20 advanced. Nifty touched a high of 18,004.35in early trade but later fell to a low of 17,818.40.
Sensex lost nearly 317 points while Nifty declined by 91 points on Friday.
From the Sensex pack, Maruti, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Nestle and ICICI Bank were among the major laggards.
UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Infosys, Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bharti Airtel were the major winners.
“Stocks are getting beaten ahead of the release of Fed minutes on Wednesday. Maintaining its guard against inflation, the Fed is expected to remain hawkish. As expected, it is unlikely to have a dire effect on the global stock market.
“However, the consequence of constant high interest rates is causing a slowdown in demand and the earnings outlook, hence the near-term trend will be cautious,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Markets started the week on a subdued note and lost over half a per cent, in continuation of the recent fall. “The continuous pressure in the banking and financial pack combined with a downtick in energy majors kept the tone negative,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
“Drubbing in banking stocks dragged down the markets today, which languished in the negative territory for a major part of the trading session. Factors such as more pain going ahead through further rate hikes, rising inflation, and the recent Adani saga continue to weigh on investors’ minds.
“Also, Indian stocks are still expensive compared to China, and hence investors are taking this opportunity to curb their holdings,” Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd, said.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge dipped 0.16 per cent and midcap index fell 0.12 per cent.
Among the sectoral indices, oil & gas declined 1.12 per cent, bankex fell 1.06 per cent, energy (0.99 per cent), financial services (0.90 per cent), realty (0.72 per cent) and telecommunication (0.70 per cent).
IT, auto, teck and services were the gainers.
In Asian markets, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China ended in the positive territory.
European markets were trading lower. The US markets had ended on a mixed note on Friday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.95 per cent to USD 83.79 per barrel.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth ₹624.61 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.