MARKET WRAP: Sensex drops 855 pts from day's high on broad-based sell-off

The domestic equity market slipped over a per cent on Tuesday amid across-the-board sell-off with the financials taking the biggest knock. Sentiment took a hit after Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that by the July end, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital will rise to over 550,000. 

The S&P BSE Sensex shed 414 points or 1.2 per cent to settle at 33,956.69 while NSE's Nifty ended at 10,047, down 121 points or 1.19 per cent. Nifty Bank lost 462 points or over 2 per cent to 20,724.90 levels. Volatility index, India VIX, climbed over 2 per cent to 30.26 levels. 

"Delhi's deputy CM has reportedly made a statement that the number of Covid-19 cases in Delhi may rise exponentially to around 5.5 lakh by end of July 2020. Trends in other affected metros like Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, etc won't be very different, " said Ajay Bodke, CEO & Chief Portfolio Manager (PMS) at Prabhudas Lilladher. 

Adding, "What happens if local governments start delaying the opening up of sectors that are perceived to help spread the disease by a few weeks if not a month or two. Caution is warranted in stocks in sectors such as multiplexes, malls, commercial reality, travel & luggage, hospitality, restaurants, etc, especially as they had moved rapidly in the last few weeks on the hope of benefiting from the lifting of lockdown."

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 12,557.50, down 26 points or 0.21 per cent and the S&P BSE SmallCap index declined 1 per cent to 11,846.05 levels. 

Sectorally, barring Nifty Pharma and Nifty FMCG stocks, all the other indices ended in the red. Nifty Metal and Nifty IT dropped over 1 per cent each while Nifty Media slipped over 3 per cent to 1,320.85 levels. On the contrary, Nifty Pharma gained nearly 2 per cent while Nifty FMCG ended flat at 29,524.90 levels, up 0.08 per cent. 

Buzzing stocks 

Shares of Adani Green Energy (AGEL) hit a new high of Rs 312.75, up 5 per cent on the BSE after the company said it has bagged the world's largest solar bid worth $6 billion. READ MORE

Shares of multiplex operators, PVR and Inox Leisure, came under selling pressure after reporting weak earnings for the quarter ended March 2020 (Q4FY20), impacted by the outbreak of Covid-19 in the last month of the quarter. At the close, PVR stock stood at Rs 1,087.25, down over 6 per cent while Inox Leisure slipped over 10 per cent to Rs 254 on the BSE. READ MORE 

Global markets

Asian stocks extended their winning streak for the ninth consecutive session on Tuesday and oil prices rose as the lifting of coronavirus lockdowns in many countries fed investor hopes of a relatively quick global economic recovery. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 2.6 per cent, China’s blue-chip CSI300 index advanced 0.7 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.6 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei bucked the trend to be down 0.6 per cent. 

In Europe, shares inched lower as declines in UK’s British American Tobacco and banking stocks halted a rally driven by optimism over a global recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

In commodities, oil prices rose, boosted by hopes for a swift recovery in fuel demand as coronavirus lockdown measures are eased across the globe, but gains were capped by the spectre of persistent oversupply in the market.

(With inputs from Reuters)