New Delhi, 24 August (H.S.):
Indian equity markets ended lower on Monday amid growing apprehension over a renewed escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran, triggering a cautious mood across global stock markets. The Indian market had opened on a firm note, with both the Sensex and Nifty initially gaining on buying support. However, sustained selling pressure later dragged both benchmark indices into negative territory. At the close, the Sensex fell 0.22 per cent, while the Nifty declined 0.14 per cent.
The BSE Sensex opened 88.73 points, or 0.11 per cent, higher at 77,629.56. Buying in the opening phase lifted the index by 248.57 points, or 0.32 per cent, to an intraday high of 77,789.40. However, the gains failed to sustain as selling pressure emerged in the market, pulling the index lower.
Amid continued selling, the Sensex slipped 587.74 points from its day's high around 2 p.m. to touch 77,201.66, registering a decline of 339.17 points, or 0.44 per cent. Subsequent buying helped the index recover 167.45 points from the day's low. The Sensex eventually closed at 77,369.11, down 171.72 points, or 0.22 per cent.
The NSE Nifty also opened higher, gaining 33.05 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 24,285.05. Buying in the initial phase pushed the index up by 61 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 24,313 within the first five minutes of trading. However, selling pressure subsequently weakened the index.
Around 2 p.m., the Nifty had fallen 168.70 points from its day's high to touch 24,144.30, down 107.70 points, or 0.44 per cent. Buying in the final hour provided some support, helping the index recover 74.75 points from its intraday low. The Nifty finally closed at 24,219.05, down 32.95 points, or 0.14 per cent.
Metal stocks remained in strong demand throughout the session. Supported by sustained buying, the BSE Metal Index closed 1.38 per cent higher. IT, FMCG, realty, healthcare and oil and gas indices also ended in positive territory. In contrast, banking and consumer durables stocks witnessed significant selling pressure.
Public sector enterprises, media, capital goods and automobile indices also closed lower. The broader market witnessed mixed trends. The Nifty Midcap Index gained 0.13 per cent, while the Smallcap Index declined 0.26 per cent.
The market decline eroded more than Rs 1 lakh crore from investors' wealth. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell to Rs 491.99 lakh crore (provisional) at the end of Monday's trading session, compared with Rs 493.12 lakh crore on Friday, the final trading day of last week. This translated into a loss of approximately Rs 1.13 lakh crore for investors in Monday's session.
A total of 4,688 stocks were actively traded on the BSE. Of these, 2,039 closed higher, 2,400 declined and 249 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,138 stocks witnessed active trading, with 1,458 ending in the green and 1,680 closing lower.
Among the 30 Sensex constituents, nine stocks ended higher, 20 declined and one remained unchanged. Of the 50 Nifty constituents, 23 closed with gains, 26 ended lower and one remained unchanged.
Among the major gainers, JSW Steel rose 2.57 per cent, Hindalco Industries 2.37 per cent, Tata Steel 1.80 per cent, HCL Technologies 1.50 per cent and Dr Reddy's Laboratories 1.30 per cent, making them the top five gainers of the session.
On the other hand, SBI Life Insurance declined 1.73 per cent, Bajaj Finance fell 1.64 per cent, Adani Ports dropped 1.64 per cent, Bajaj Finserv slipped 1.52 per cent and Bharat Electronics declined 1.21 per cent, emerging as the top five losers.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
