Market Wrap, Sept 22: Here's all that happened in the markets today

Extending Monday's decline, the benchmark indices ended around 0.8 per cent lower on Tuesday as surging Covid cases raised fears of the prolonged economic slump. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 300 points or 0.79 per cent to settle at 37,734 levels. The broader Nifty50 index fell below the 11,200-mark to 11,154, down 97 points, or 0.86 per cent. India VIX slipped nearly 5 per cent to 21 levels. 

Maruti and Larsen & Toubro  (both down around 3 per cent) were the top Sensex laggards. On the other hand, IT stocks HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, and TCS gained over 2 per cent each.

The trend among Nifty sectoral indices was largely negative. Nifty Auto fell 1.75 per cent to 7,695 levels while Nifty Realty declined 1.85 per cent to 210 levels. Nifty Media dipped 2.6 per cent to 1,517.50 levels. On the other hand, Nifty IT gained 0.7 per cent while Nifty Pharma rose 0.66 per cent. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index slipped 1.7 per cent to 14,284 points, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index lost 1.6 per cent to 14,509 levels. 

Buzzing stocks

Shares of GMM Pfaudler were locked in 10 per cent lower circuit at Rs 4,717 on the BSE after the company announced an offer for sale (OFS) by the promoters at a floor price of Rs 3,500 per share. The floor price is a 33 per cent discount to its Monday’s closing price of Rs 5,241 on the BSE. 

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) gained 2 per cent to Rs 2,523 on the BSE  after the company said it has expanded its partnership with Morrisons, a leading supermarket chain in the UK, through a five-year contract for application management services, data services, and cybersecurity services.