The benchmark indices hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade, dragged by metal, banks and auto stocks. At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 1,519.37 points or 2.67% at 55,492.37. The Nifty 50 index lost 466.55 points or 2.75% at 16,518.65.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 3.68% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index skid 3.62%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 619 shares rose and 2,730 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.
The sentiment was affected by the rapidly spreading coronavirus variant in most parts of Europe. Traders worried that fresh round of lockdowns could hurt the economic recovery prospects.
Unabated selling by FIIs in India, concerns about the rising inflation and hawkish tone by the world's major central banks also triggered selling pressure.
The US central bank on 15 December announced that it would put an end to its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and would raise the interest rates thrice in the upcoming year to battle growing inflation.
The Bank of England on 16 December raised interest rates and warned inflation was likely to hit 6% in April - three times its target level. The BoE cut its growth forecasts for December and the first quarter of 2022 because of the spread of Omicron.
However, the Bank of Japan on 17 December maintained its target for short-term interest rates at minus 0.1% and said it would continue guiding the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds to around zero.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 14.15% to 18.65. The Nifty 30 December 2021 futures were trading at 16,572.10, at a premium of 53.45 points as compared with the spot at 16,518.65.
The Nifty option chain for 30 December 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 36.8 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 39.5 lakh contracts was seen at 17,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index dropped 3.68% to 5,275.50. The index lost 6.90% in four trading sessions.
Welspun Corp (down 5.91%), National Aluminium Co. (NALCO) (down 5.22%), Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) (down 5.10%), SAIL (India) (down 4.90%) and Hindustan Copper (down 4.88%) were the top losers in the Metal segment.
IPO Updates:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Supriya Lifescience received bids for over 14.15 crore shares as against 1.45 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 12:18 IST on Monday, (20 December 2021). The issue was subscribed 9.74 times.
The issue opened for bidding on 16 December 2021 and it will close on 20 December 2021. The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 265-274. An investor can bid for a minimum of 54 equity shares and in multiples thereof. The IPO comprises a fresh issue of upto Rs 200 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of upto Rs 500 crore (including an anchor portions of 1,14,96,351 equity shares).
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