Both the Nifty and the Sensex erased early gains and ended lower after a choppy session of trade. Nifty fell 116.90 points and closed at 24,090.85; Sensex tumbled 539.35 points and ended the trading session at 76,933.59. Most sectoral indices ended the trading day lower and FMCG, cement, oil and gas, and PSU banking shares declined significantly. In fact the markets witnessed this sharp downturn at the fag end of the session on its first monthly expiry following the introduction of the closing auction session (CAS). The Indian rupee pared initial gains and closed lower by 11 paise at 95.55 against the US dollar.
On NSE, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, BEL, Eternal, ONGC, Tata Steel, Infosys, Reliance, Cipla, Adani Ports and Trent, among others, were the top gainers, while HDFC Bank, Hindalco, Grasim, Power Grid, Axis Bank, Coal India, TCS and Maruti, among others, were the top losers.
Shares of also came under pressure and declined over 2 percent after reports emerged of a securities lawsuit filed against the lender and two of its senior executives in the US. Experts believe investors have reacted to allegations of misleading disclosures and governance-related lapses. The legal action has been filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
G. Chokkalingam Head of Research at Equinomics Research said, “over 7 percent correction in global crude oil prices is likely to boost markets. However, continued boom in IPOs is set to apply pressures on liquidity available to the secondary markets. Hence overall market is likely to remain at best in sideways. Market is likely to focus on stock specific actions in the small & mid cap segment as new retail investors continue to pour into the markets and there are lot attractive stocks in terms of valuation and unique growth / deep value stories available in Analysts remain cautious in the near-term amid ongoing geopolitical concerns.