Sensex, Nifty end lower in volatile session, erase Wednesday’s gains; key things from today’s trade

As bears took over the grip, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 ended another volatile session in red on Thursday. The sell-off in consumer durables and banking stocks pushed the markets below yesterday’s levels. Sensex declined over 250 points from day’s high to close at 31,443, while Nifty 50 declined 72 points or 0.78 per cent to settle just below 9,200-mark. “Bluechip financial stocks contributed most to the losses in the market, due to anticipated increase in NPAs during this period. There is no respite in the number of domestic virus infections and markets are worried about a further extension in lockdown, which could severely impact already weak corporate earnings and the economy,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Top gainers and losers on BSE Sensex: ONGC was the top laggard on BSE Sensex, with a fall of 4.54 per cent. NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel and Titan were other losers on the Sensex pack. On the flip side, IndusInd Bank was top gainer on the Sensex, up 6.58 per cent, followed by M&M, Reliance Industries (RIL), Axis Bank and Tech Mahindra.

Nifty Financial Services top sectoral loser: Barring Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Media, all the sectoral indices ended in red. Nifty Financial Services, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Bank index declined in the range of 1-1.5%. the top draggers in the FMCG index were Godrej Consumer Properties, Dabur India and UBL.

Broader markets outperform: The broader markets outperformed the headline indices. S&P BSE MidCap index fell 0.53 per cent or 61 points at 11,420. While BSE SmallCap index declined 0.14 per cent or 15 points to end at 10,687. In comparison, BSE Sensex dropped 242 points or 0.76 per cent to end at 31,443.38.

Coronavirus cases above 52,000-mark: The COVID-19 cases in India have surpassed 52,000-mark with death count set to touch 1800-mark, according to the government data. “In the afternoon session the markets continued to show a sluggish trend and further fell as the data from the Union Health Ministry showed a spike in coronavirus cases in the country, which added to the volatility, Narendra Solanki, Head Fundamental Research, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, said.

Technical observation: Nifty 50 failed to hold 9,200 level in today’s volatile trade. “We observe range movement in the market over the last three sessions. The higher low formations of the last one month on a daily chart signal possibility of yet another upside bounce with the swing low of 9116 (6th May), but Nifty sustaining at the highs is doubtful,” technical analyst Nagaraj Shetti, HDFC Securities, said.