Sensex plunges 949pts, Nifty ends 285pts lower; Airtel, RIL, IT shares drag

The broader markets also weakened towards the end of the trade, and the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended with a loss of 1.4 per cent each

Closing Bell

The key benchmark indices extended Friday's fall as investors continued to adopt a cautious approach given the uncertainity around the Omicron virus and the upcoming RBI policy meeting on December 08. Selling was clearly visible in IT and FMCG shares, while select auto and financial stocks also weakened as the progressed. Index heavyweights, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel too lost ground.

The BSE benchmark index, the Sensex, opened 82-odd points higher at 57,778, and could barely move an inch higher to 57,781, before slipping into the negative zone. Weakness spread to the broader markets in the latter half of the trading day. The BSE tumbled to a low of 56,688, and finally settled with a significant loss of 949 points at 56,747.

In the process, the BSE benchmark has shed 1,714 points (2.9 per cent) in the last two trading sessions. The NSE Nifty slumped to a low of 16,892, and ended 285 points lower at 16,912.

In the primary market, Anand Rathi Wealth IPO was subscribed 7.2 times so far on the final day of the offer. The retail portion received bids up to 7.5 times and wealthy investors 15.4 times. The QIB quota was also fully subscribed.

"The Nifty has reached its strong support zone of 16,900. If the index manages to hold on to this level, one can expect a good pullback. On the other hand, if the index fails hold this support, it can slip towards 16,800-16,700 levels, which are the next support levels," said Rohit Singre, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities.



The broader markets also weakened significantly towards the end of the trade on Monday. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices declined 1.4 per cent each. The overall market breadth also turned negative as the day progressed, with finally 1,997 declining stocks as against 1,422 advancing shares on the BSE.

Among sectors, the BSE IT index cracked 2.5 per cent. The Energy and Telecom indices were down 2 per cent each. The FMCG, Healthcare, Auto and Realty indices were the other major losers, down over 1.5 per cemt each.

Market Dashboard: Snapshot of key movers and shakers in trade today

IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv were the biggest losers among the Sensex-30 stocks. The former plunged 3.7 per cent, and the latter dropped 3.3 per cent. Bharti Airtel tanked 3 per cent, and Reliance Industries was down 1.8 per cent.

TCS, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were down 2.5 - 2.9 per cent each. Dr.Reddy's, Asian Paints, Maruti and NTPC were the other significant losers. All Sensex 30 stocks ended in the negative zone.

In the broader markets, Automotive Stampings & Assemblies (ASAL) hit a record high of Rs 260.15 and was locked at the 5 per cent upper circuit on back of the auto ancillary company's plans to establish a new plant in Pune. Today, the stock was frozen at the upper circuit for 14th straight trading day. READ MORE

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Responsive Industries, Starlit Power Systems and MTNL were the other major gainers in the broader markets, locked at the 20 per cent respective upper limits. Privi Speciality Chemicals, Indo Count Industries, Morepen Labs, Hindustan Construction, Alpha Labs, JBM Auto, Kabra Extrusions, Vimta Labs, HFCL, IFCI and BEML were the other prominent gainers.

Wheras, Prakash Industries, NxtDigital, MM Forgings, Inox Wind, Tarsons Products, PolicyBazaar, Godfrey Phillips, Religare Enterprises, Sagar Cements, Neogen Chemicals, PVR, Fortis Helthcare, Thermax, Igarashi Motors and Lemon Tree were the significant losers.
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Markets at 02:30 PM

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices have extended losses and registered fresh intra-day lows as weakness in IT and FMCG shares has now spread to select auto and financial shares too.

The BSE Sensex has declined 642 points to 57,054, and the NSE Nifty has tumbled 199 points to 16,998.

The broader indices too have extended losses, the Midcap and Smallcap indices were down over 0.5 per cent each. The overall breadth too has turned negative - with 1,791 declining stocks versus 1,575 advancing shares on the BSE.

The BSE IT index was down 1.8 per cent. HCL Infosys was locked at the 5 per cent lower circuit. Datamatics, Mastek, L&T Infotech, Aurion Proptech, CoForge, L&T Technology Services and Tata Exlsi were the other major losers, down 3-4 per cent each.

Among the large-caps, TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro were all down 2 per cent each.

Among the financials, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv were the major losers among the Sensex 30, down 3.3 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively. Dr.Reddy's, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid Corporation and Kotak Bank were the other major losers. HDFC and ICICI Bank were the only gainers.

Global cues

Meanwhile, markets in Europe have started trade on a positive note. The key benchmarks, FTSE 100, DAX 30 and CAC 40 were up 0.5 per cent - 0.7 per cent each in early trades.

Evergrande was back in the headlines on Monday following a statement from the Chinese property developers on Friday saying that creditors had demanded $260 million and that it could not guarantee enough funds. 

Chinese government officials summoned Evergrande’s Chair and the PBoC has stepped up its criticism of the company accusing it of ‘poor management’ and pursing ‘blind expansion’. Reports in Chinese state media that Beijing will cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio ‘in a timely way’ lent a little support to mainland Chinese blue chips overnight.

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Markets at Lunch (01:30 PM)

LIVE market updates: The BSE Sensex was down 441 points at 57,255, and the NSE Nifty had slipped 130 points to 17,067.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hang Seng plunged 1.7 per cent. Shanghai Composite was down 0.5 per cent, and Nikkei slipped 0.4 per cent. Whereas, Straits Times rallied a per cent, and Kospi added 0.2 per cent.

Back home, the broader indices were marginally in the negative zone. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 0.1-0.2 per cent, each.

In the broader markets, Tarson Products was trading at its lowest level since debut. The stock was trading 4.4 per cent lower at Rs 634, and was down for the sixth trading session in a row. The stock had registered its record hgh of Rs 928.65 on its listing day on November 29, 2021. READ MORE

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Markets at 12 Noon

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices were seen languishing near the low's of the day on the back of persistent selling pressure in IT shares. Energy and FMCG stocks too were down notably.

The BSE Sensex was down 478 points at 57,218, and the NSE Nifty had declined 140 points to 17,057.

In the broader markets, Vodafone Idea has surged 6.8 per cent to Rs 15.38 and was trading at a fresh 31-month high. The stock has been in demand on reports that DoT (Department of Telecom) has released bank guarantee worth Rs 2,500 crore of the telecom firm. The stock has gained nearly 300 per cent from its 52-week low. READ MORE

Other prominent gainers in the broader markets were, StarLit Power Systems, Vimta Labs, Alpha Labs, Talbros Autommotive, Morepen Labs, Indo Count Industries, Kabra Extrusion, Hindustan Construction, Simplex Infra, Ansal Housing, Privi Speciality Chemicals and MMTC.

On the other hand, Prakash Industries, Sagar Cements, Synergy Green, NxtDigital, Mukta Arts, Jindal Photo, Panacea Biotech, Unichem Labs, Neogen Chemicals and HCL Infosys were the major losers.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE IT index was down nearly 2 per cent. The Oil & Gas and FMCG indices were the other significant losers.
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Markets at 11 AM

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices derailed the recovery process on account of sellig pressure in IT shares, even as select banking stocks recouped losses.

The BSE Sensex was down 293 points at 57,403. The NSE Nifty had declined 86 points at 17,111.

The broader indices too were off the day's low. The BSE Midcap index was down 0.1 per cent, while the Smallcap index had added 0.1 per cent. The overall market breadth is positive, with 1,746 advancing shares versus 1,400 declining stocks on the BSE.

HCL Technologies and Asian Paints were the major losers among the Sensex 30 stocks, down nearly 2 per cent each. Maruti, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid Corporation, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, TCS and NTPC were the other prominent losers.

On the positive front, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank were up over a per cent each.

In the primary market, Anand Rathi Wealth IPO was subscribed 3.7 times so far on the final day of the offer. The retail portion was subscribed 5.7 times and wealthy investors 4.3 times.
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Markets at 10 AM

LIVE market updates: Weakness in Asia and rising cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the country are keeping indices in the negative territory.

After starting about 100 points lower, the BSE Sensex hit a low of 57,343 (down nearly 300 points) in early deals. It, however, recouped some of the losses to trade at 57,455 levels, down 241 points at 10 AM.

The 50-share Nifty, too, hit a low of 17,095 but recovered marginally to quote at 17,129.

The gains in the broader markets were tepid with the MidCap and SmallCap indices up 0.05 per cent each.

Among individual stocks, shares of JBM Auto continued their northward movement, and rallied 11 per cent to Rs 1,147.95 on the BSE in Monday's early morning deals, ahead of the company's board meeting to consider stock split from face value of Rs 5 to a lower denomination. READ MORE

Besides, shares of Eris Lifesciences surged 10 per cent to Rs 773.40 on the BSE after the pharmaceutical company on Friday said it has formed a joint venture (JV) with Mumbai-based MJ Biopharm to enter the insulin segment. READ MORE

Currency market: The rupee opened at lower at 75.22 per US dollar compared with Friday's close of 74.99/$. 

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Opening Bell

LIVE market updates: Domestic equities started in the red on Monday, down 0.2 per cent, on the bourses amid weakness in Asian markets. The BSE Sensex slipped 71 points at 57,625 levels while the Nifty50 was at 17,169, up 28 points.

Tech Mahindra (up 1 per cent) was the top gainer on the Sensex index. This was followed by HDFC, L&T, Ultratech Cement, TCS, and HUL. On the downside, Maruti Suzuki (down 2 per cent), M&M, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, and Bajaj Finance were the top laggards.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index was up 0.15 per cent and the BSE SmallCap index added 0.14 per cent. 

Sectorally, realty and media stocks were the only gainers. On the flipside, auto, financials, and IT stock were in the red.

The overall market breadth was in the favour of buyers with over 1,500 stocks advancing on the BSE. Meanwhile, aroind 990 stocks were in the red. 

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Pre-open session

LIVE market updates: Frontline indices were trading mixed in the pre-market session on Monday. The BSE Sensex was at 57,779 levels, up 83 points. The Nifty50, on the other hand, was at 17,175, down 22 points. 

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LIVE market updates: Benchmark indices may start higher on Monday even as fresh Omicron-based Covid-19 cases emerge in India. What may be comforting the bulls is the likely less-severity of the virus with no cases of serious hospitalisation so far. 

That apart, investors will also track the Reserve Bank of India's 3-day monetary policy meeting, which begins today, along with stock-specific news flow and primary market action.

At 8:20 AM, SGX Nifty was at 17,240.5 level compared with Friday's spot close of 17,197.

Global cues

Stocks in Asia-Pacific dropped on Monday, while investors monitored bitcoin prices after they fell sharply over the weekend. Oil prices jumped during early Asia trade.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.3% per cent in early trade, as tech stocks fell. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell nearly 1 per cent, while the Topix was down 0.79 per cent. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.57 per cent.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.39 per cent.