New Delhi, 19 October (H.S.): The domestic stock market began the week on a weak note, closing sharply lower on Monday, coinciding with Mahanavami, as widespread selling pressure dragged both benchmark indices deep into the red. The market opened marginally higher, but profit-booking at elevated levels and intense selling soon after the opening bell triggered a steep decline in both the Sensex and the Nifty.

Although banking stocks provided some support at intervals during the session, helping the market recover partially from its intraday lows, the rebound proved short-lived. At the close of trading, the Sensex was down 1.17 per cent, while the Nifty ended 1.11 per cent lower.

The intense selling pressure pushed the Sensex more than 1,140 points below its opening level. The Nifty also fell more than 330 points from its intraday high, slipping below the psychologically significant 22,900 mark. The sharp downturn resulted in a decline of approximately Rs 5.64 lakh crore in the total market value of investors' holdings.

The BSE Sensex opened at 74,849.30, gaining 120.03 points, or 0.16 per cent, against Friday's closing level of 74,729.27. However, broad-based selling emerged almost immediately after the opening bell, erasing the initial gains and pushing the index into negative territory within minutes.

As selling intensified, the Sensex plunged 1,140.76 points from its intraday high to touch a low of 73,708.54, representing a decline of 1,020.73 points, or 1.37 per cent, from the previous close. The index subsequently recovered some ground with modest buying at lower levels. After fluctuating throughout the session, it closed at 73,852.90, down 876.37 points, or 1.17 per cent, recovering 144.36 points from its intraday low.

The NSE Nifty opened at 23,150.85, registering a marginal gain of 4.70 points, or 0.02 per cent. However, sustained selling quickly wiped out its opening gains and pushed the index into the red. The Nifty dropped 330.25 points from its intraday high, touching a low of 22,845.00, down 301.15 points from the previous close.

Buying interest in public sector bank stocks subsequently offered some support, prompting a modest recovery. Nevertheless, the rebound remained limited, and the Nifty ended the session at 22,888.95, down 257.20 points, or 1.11 per cent.

During the day's trading, selected banking stocks were among the few areas to show positive momentum. The Nifty PSU Bank index surged 2.46 per cent, emerging as a notable gainer. In contrast, sustained profit-booking in private banking stocks weighed heavily on the sector, with the Nifty Private Bank index falling 1.85 per cent, making it the worst-performing sectoral index.

Other major sectoral indices also closed in negative territory. The Nifty IT index declined 1.28 per cent, the FMCG index fell 1.44 per cent, and the Pharma index shed 0.65 per cent. Selling pressure extended to the broader market, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index falling 1.09 per cent and the Smallcap index declining 1.01 per cent.

The market-wide sell-off significantly reduced investors' wealth. The total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE fell to a provisional Rs 467.82 lakh crore at the close of trading, compared with Rs 473.46 lakh crore on Friday, the final trading day of the previous week. This represented a decline of Rs 5.64 lakh crore in the aggregate market value of listed companies.

Trading activity remained substantial on the NSE, where 3,259 stocks were actively traded during the session. Of these, 733 closed higher, while 2,526 ended lower. Among the 30 constituents of the Sensex, five advanced and 25 declined. Similarly, of the 50 Nifty constituents, eight finished in positive territory, while 42 closed with losses.

Among the market's leading gainers, JSW Steel rose 2.06 per cent, ONGC gained 1.35 per cent, State Bank of India (SBI) advanced 1.15 per cent, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) climbed 0.96 per cent, and Eicher Motors added 0.89 per cent.

On the other hand, Axis Bank was the biggest loser among the major stocks, falling 4.19 per cent. Tata Motors declined 3.09 per cent, Infosys dropped 2.63 per cent, Bajaj Finance fell 2.52 per cent, and Apollo Hospitals Enterprises shed 2.41 per cent.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar