New Delhi, 29 June (H.S.): The domestic equity market ended lower on Monday after witnessing strong profit booking from the day's highs, heavy selling in automobile and information technology stocks, and a sharp rise in the India Volatility Index. After opening on a mixed note, the market traded with a positive bias during the first half before selling pressure intensified ahead of the second session, dragging both benchmark indices into negative territory. The Sensex fell more than 600 points from its intraday high, while the Nifty slipped over 195 points from its peak before both indices settled lower. At the close, the Sensex declined 0.48 per cent and the Nifty lost 0.46 per cent.
Automobile, information technology, and oil and gas stocks remained under sustained selling pressure throughout the trading session. Banking, consumer durables, FMCG, and technology indices also ended in the red. In contrast, public sector enterprises, metal, and capital goods stocks closed with gains. The broader market also remained weak, with the Nifty Midcap Index declining 0.37 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap Index ending 0.62 per cent lower.
The decline in the market wiped out more than Rs 72,000 crore from investors' wealth during the session. The total market capitalisation of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) fell to a provisional Rs 473.90 lakh crore at the close of trade, compared with Rs 474.62 lakh crore recorded on the previous trading day. As a result, investors suffered a notional loss of around Rs 72,000 crore.
A total of 4,559 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the session. Of these, 1,712 advanced, 2,629 declined, while 218 closed unchanged. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 3,024 stocks witnessed active trading, with 1,106 ending higher and 1,918 finishing in the red. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 13 stocks closed with gains while 17 declined. On the Nifty, 25 stocks ended higher and 25 finished lower.
The BSE Sensex opened marginally lower by 45.26 points at 77,055.21. Supported by early buying, the index climbed to an intraday high of 77,252.78. However, profit booking soon emerged, leading to sustained selling pressure. The benchmark eventually plunged 631.03 points from the day's high to touch an intraday low of 76,621.75, down 478.72 points from the previous close. Although buying interest resurfaced intermittently, it was insufficient to offset the selling pressure. The Sensex finally settled 372.10 points lower at 76,728.37.
The NSE Nifty opened with a marginal gain of 5.75 points at 24,061.75 and rose to an intraday high of 24,120 after gaining 64 points in early trade. Profit booking thereafter reversed the trend, dragging the index down to an intraday low of 23,924.55, a fall of 195.45 points from the day's peak. Late buying during intraday settlement helped the index recover some losses, but it still ended 109.75 points lower at 23,946.25.
Among the top-performing frontline stocks, Max Healthcare gained 2.36 per cent, followed by Coal India at 2.17 per cent, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories at 1.87 per cent, Eternal at 1.67 per cent, and Trent Limited at 1.31 per cent.
On the losing side, Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 3.30 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra fell 2.80 per cent, Adani Enterprises lost 2.49 per cent, InterGlobe Aviation slipped 2.47 per cent, and Maruti Suzuki India declined 2.42 per cent, making them the top losers of the session.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
