New Delhi, 15 December (H.S.): Domestic equity markets witnessed volatile trading on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty managing to recover significantly from early losses, only to end the day with narrow declines. The benchmark BSE Sensex slipped 0.06 percent, while the NSE Nifty closed 0.08 percent lower, as cautious trade dominated the session.
The trading day began on a weak note amid profit-taking, leading both indices to drop sharply in early deals. However, within the first half-hour, selective buying by investors helped markets stage a notable recovery. By mid-session, major indices had erased most losses before mild selling in the final hour dragged them back into negative territory.
Despite the subdued close, investors came out richer — as renewed buying in midcap and smallcap stocks boosted overall market capitalisation by ₹66,000 crore. The total market value of BSE-listed companies rose to approximately ₹470.95 lakh crore by the end of the session, up from ₹470.29 lakh crore recorded on Friday.
Sectoral and Market Highlights
Buying activity was strong in IT, FMCG, and consumer durables throughout the session. Gains were also recorded in banking, capital goods, metals, oil & gas, public sector enterprises, and technology sectors. Conversely, telecom, automobile, and healthcare stocks faced consistent selling pressure.The BSE Midcap index closed 0.16 percent higher, while the Smallcap index advanced 0.41 percent, outperforming benchmark indices and reflecting broader market strength.
On the BSE, out of 4,449 actively traded shares, 2,239 advanced, 2,031 declined, and 179 remained unchanged. At the NSE, 1,488 stocks ended higher and 1,363 closed lower. Among Sensex constituents, 14 stocks gained while 16 declined. In the Nifty 50 basket, 21 shares closed in the green and 29 finished in the red.
Index Performance
The Sensex opened 375.91 points lower at 84,891.75, slipping further to 84,840.32 amid sustained selling pressure. Strong buying in the afternoon session helped the index rally over 437 points from the day’s low to briefly turn positive, touching 85,278.63. However, late-session profit booking erased the gains, and the Sensex eventually settled 54.30 points lower at 85,213.36.
Similarly, the Nifty 50 opened weak at 25,930.05, down 116.90 points, and fell to 25,904.75 before staging a recovery. It later climbed as high as 26,047.15, showing a symbolic gain of 0.20 points, but eventually ended 19.65 points lower at 26,027.30 amid end-of-day settlements.
Top Gainers and Losers
Among the top performers on the Sensex, InterGlobe Aviation surged 2.16 percent, followed by Hindustan Unilever (up 1.46 percent), Shriram Finance (0.87 percent), Trent Ltd. (0.82 percent), and Tata Consumer Products (0.70 percent).The biggest laggards included Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.95 percent), Eicher Motors (1.49 percent), ONGC (1.12 percent), JSW Steel (0.95 percent), and Bajaj Auto (0.83 percent).
Market analysts said that despite weak global cues, mid- and small-cap accumulation by domestic investors supported overall sentiments. The modest market-cap rise of ₹66,000 crore highlighted steady investor confidence, even as benchmark indices consolidated after recent highs.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
