Mumbai: Persistent worries over rising coronavirus cases weighed on domestic equities on Monday, but a late rally in select private lenders and positive moves in FMCG stocks limited the losses in the headline indices.
However, the broader market continued to reel under pressure.
Benchmark 30-share Sensex closed 210 points lower at 34,962 after falling as much as 509 points to 34,662 during the day. The 50-share Nifty shed 71 points to settle at 10,312.
“Nifty opened lower on the back of weakness in global markets. However, limited selloff in large-cap stocks helped the index recover in the second half of the session,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities
“Technically, Nifty may consolidate between 10,250 and 10,450 levels before seeing any meaningful movements. Avoid buying at the highest point of the range,” Chouhan said.
Here is a lowdown on what happened in Monday’s session:
Earnings-driven stocks
Cigarettes-to-hotels company
ITC rose 1.08 per cent, cheering better-than-expected March quarter results. Coal India dropped 4.79 per cent after it posted 23.24 per cent year-on-year drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,625.76 crore for the quarter ended March 31. Metals producer Nalco fell 4.63 per cent on 57.1 per cent decline in Q4 net profit. State-owned HUDCO jumped 19.93 per cent after it reported a 87 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 440.91 crore for the quarter ended March.
S&P downgrade hurts
Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance shed 4.78 per cent and 1.60 per cent respectively, after S&P Global Ratings on Friday said it had lowered their ratings to junk, reflecting the ratings agency’s view that economic risks have increased for banks and financial institutions operating in India.
Broader market hit hard
The selloff was sharper in the broader market. BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell 1.39 per cent and 1.23 per cent, respectively.
Stocks that touched 52-week lows
Around 55 stocks touched 52-week lows on BSE. They included Vivanta Industries, BC Power Controls, Chennai Ferrous Industries, GB Global, Panth Infinity, Narayani Steels among others.
Stocks that touched 52-week highs
As many as 125 stocks scaled 52-weeks highs on BSE. They included Astrazeneca Pharma, EID Parry, Geojit Financial Services, IDBI Bank, Ruchi Soya and Omaxe, among others.
Stocks that hit upper circuits
Some 492 stocks hit their upper circuit limits on BSE. They included Hudco, Reliance Infrastructure, Suzlon, Edelweiss, IDBI Bank, Reliance Power among others.
Stocks that gave sell signals
Stocks such as Ashok Leyland, ICICI Bank, NTPC, NCC, Vedanta, among others, flashed ‘sell’ signals they crossed below the signal line of the MACD indicator.