Market in bear clutch, Sensex loses over 440 pts

Equity indices extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. Resurgent worries about rising US bond yields hit global shares. The Nifty slipped below the 15,000 mark. All sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in the red.

At 14:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 465.99 points or 0.92% at 50,317.20. The Nifty 50 index slumped 169.15 points or 1.12% at 14,911.60.

Selling was broad based. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 2.2% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index tumbled 1.79%. Both these indices added over 5% each in the past four days.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 951 shares rose and 1964 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

Firm crude oil prices also spooked investors. Higher crude oil prices could increase fiscal deficit, current account deficit and stoke fuel price inflation.

Numbers to Track:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2021 settlement rose 83 cents to $67.57 a barrel. The contract increased 4.1% to settle at $66.74 a barrel in the previous session.

Global oil prices jumped after OPEC and its allies agreed not to increase the supply in April as they await a more substantial recovery in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.215% as compared to its previous close of 6.212%.

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 72.9, compared with its previous closing of 72.8375.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2021 settlement fell 0.56% to Rs 44,290.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.33% to 91.942.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 115,597,805 with 25,69,011 deaths. India reported 176,319 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 157,548 deaths while 108,39,894 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Broader Market Losers:

SAIL (down 9%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 6.69%), Canara Bank (down 6.5%), GMR Infra (down 6.3%), Apollo Hospitals (down 5.57%) and Federal Bank (down 5.35%) were top losers in Mid Cap space.

Eros Media (down 10%), PTC India Financial Services (down 8.2%), MTNL (down 8%), Zee Learn (down 7.9%), Shree Renuka Sugars (down 7.49%) and Apollo Tyres (down 6.76%) were top losers in Small Cap segment.

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