New Delhi, 30 September (H.S.): Domestic equity markets witnessed sharp volatility on the final trading day of September on Wednesday. Both the Sensex and the Nifty opened on a weak note but recovered strongly during the session as buying support lifted the benchmark indices into positive territory. However, the gains failed to hold in the second half of the session. Broad-based selling emerged after around 1:30 p.m., pushing both indices into the red. At the close, the Sensex was down 0.07 per cent, while the Nifty declined 0.42 per cent.

The scale of the day’s volatility was evident from the wide swings in both benchmarks. After opening, the Sensex surged 621.08 points from its opening level before subsequently plunging as much as 695.79 points from the day’s high amid selling pressure. Similarly, the Nifty climbed 144.35 points from its opening level during the first half of trade before falling 214.15 points from its intraday peak. The market decline eroded investors’ wealth by Rs. 2.03 lakh crore on a provisional basis.

The BSE Sensex opened 87.92 points, or 0.12 per cent, lower at 72,441.15. Shortly after trading began, renewed buying helped the index recover and move into positive territory. Supported by sustained buying, the Sensex rose 621.08 points from its opening level shortly before 1 p.m. to hit an intraday high of 73,062.23, representing a gain of 533.16 points, or 0.74 per cent.

The index continued to trade around those levels for roughly the next hour. Shortly before 2 p.m., bears regained control of the market, triggering a gradual weakening in the index. Persistent selling dragged the Sensex down by 695.79 points from its intraday high to around 3 p.m., when it touched 72,366.44, a decline of 162.63 points, or 0.22 per cent.

Buying returned towards the end of the session, allowing the index to recover more than 110 points from its intraday low. The Sensex finally closed at 72,480.29, down 48.78 points, or 0.07 per cent.

The NSE Nifty, meanwhile, opened at 22,665, down 51.20 points, or 0.23 per cent. Buying emerged soon after the opening bell, helping the index regain momentum and move into positive territory.

Despite intermittent bouts of selling, sustained buying support pushed the Nifty 144.35 points above its opening level at around 1 p.m. The index reached an intraday high of 22,809.35, up 93.15 points, or 0.41 per cent.

Thereafter, broad-based selling set in, sending the index back into negative territory. Shortly before 3 p.m., the Nifty had fallen 214.15 points from its intraday high to 22,595.20, down 121 points, or 0.53 per cent. Modest buying towards the close, partly attributed to intraday settlement activity, helped the index recover around 25 points from its low. The Nifty ended at 22,620.45, down 95.75 points, or 0.42 per cent.

Among sectors, metal, consumer durables and pharmaceutical stocks remained under sustained selling pressure during the session. The BSE Healthcare Index fell 2.35 per cent, while the BSE Consumer Durables Index declined 1.43 per cent. The BSE Metal Index ended 1.24 per cent lower. The Capital Goods and FMCG indices also closed in negative territory.

In contrast, realty, media and banking stocks attracted sustained buying interest. The IT, automobile, public sector enterprises, and oil and gas indices also ended higher.

The broader market remained relatively resilient despite the volatility. Supported by buying interest, the Nifty Midcap Index managed to close marginally higher by 0.02 per cent, while the Smallcap Index advanced 0.27 per cent.

The market decline resulted in a loss of more than Rs. 2 lakh crore in investors’ wealth. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell to Rs. 471.79 lakh crore on a provisional basis, from Rs. 473.82 lakh crore at the end of the previous trading session on Tuesday. The decline represents a loss of approximately Rs. 2.03 lakh crore for investors during Wednesday’s session.

A total of 4,610 stocks were actively traded on the BSE. Of these, 2,144 closed higher, 2,232 declined and 234 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,248 stocks witnessed active trading, with 1,629 ending in positive territory and 1,619 closing lower.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 13 stocks advanced while 17 declined. Of the 50 Nifty constituents, 17 ended higher, 32 declined and one remained unchanged.

Among the major stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 2.71 per cent, InterGlobe Aviation rose 2.30 per cent, ICICI Bank advanced 2.28 per cent, Shriram Finance climbed 1.15 per cent and Wipro gained 1.09 per cent, placing them among the session’s top five gainers.

On the losing side, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises fell 5.70 per cent, Max Healthcare Institute declined 5.33 per cent, Cipla dropped 2.41 per cent, Eternal fell 2.39 per cent and Adani Enterprises declined 2.34 per cent, making them the five biggest losers among the major stocks.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar