After a three-day holiday, domestic benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 settled 1.50 per cent lower on Monday as shares of HDFC Bank, RIL, Bajaj Finance and HDFC were among the top contributors towards today’s fall. S&P BSE Sensex slipped below its crucial 31,000-mark while the broader Nifty 50 index breached the psychological level of 9,000 in intraday trade. “Market is witnessing some selling pressure and profit booking after a stellar rally last week which was attributed to strong global markets due to continuous stimulus from the US Fed,” Amit Gupta, Cofounder, Tradingbells told Financial Express Online. Last week, the 30-share index Sensex recorded the biggest single-day gain in percentage terms since 2009. “However the main problem of Covid19 still persists which is causing some sell off in the US Futures and Asian markets, and Indian equity markets are following the same path,” Amit Gupta added.
Most pharma stocks were trading in deep green in today’s trade. Nifty Pharma index gained nearly 3 per cent as Glenmark Pharma share price surged 25 per cent, Auropharma 15 per cent and Lupin share price jumped 5 per cent in the afternoon deals. S&P BSE Sensex finished trade 470 points or 1.51 per cent lower at 30,690, while the broader Nifty 50 index settled at 8,994, down 118 points or 1.30 per cent. Market analysts believe that the sell-off in the domestic equity markets today can be attributed to the hopes of lockdown extension in India. “With the expectation of extension of nationwide lockdown as major states have already extended it till April 30, markets have again witnessed sell-off. The concerns regarding the further impact on the economy, longer time to get back on track and more importantly the financial sector’s expected increase in NPAs worried traders in the medium term leading to a sell-off post a mild rally last week,” Narendra Solanki told Financial Express Online.
. As many as 23 stocks out of 30 Sensex stocks ended in deep red today with Bajaj Finance as the top loser, down 10.27 per cent, followed by M&M, Titan, Hero MotoCorp and ICICI Bank. LT was the top Sensex gainer with a growth of 6.57 per cent. Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, UltraCement and NTPC were among the other gainers on the Sensex. However, in the Nifty 50 index, 20 stocks were traded in green while 30 were in red. Bajaj Finance, ZEEL, Bajaj Finserv, M&M and Titan “Technically 9,130 is acting as a critical hurdle for the Nifty, and if Nifty sustains above this mark, we can expect a further rally towards 9,390, otherwise selling pressure may continue to pull Nifty towards 8,750 in the near term,” Amit Gupta added.