All the sectoral indices ended in the red with realty, bank, capital goods and metal indices fell 3-4 percent. BSE midcap and small cap indices shed over 3 percent each.
AMN / WEB DESK
Amid fears of a severe-than-expected economic impact owing to the Omicron variant, recently announced hawkish policy stances by global central bankers and persistent FIIs selling, Sensex today droped 1,700 points intraday and Nifty below 16,600.
Market opened on a negative note amid bearish global cues and slumped further in the first half, witnessing heavy selling across the board. Relentless FII selling and rising Omicron cases continue weighing on investor sentiments.
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At 1pm, the BSE Sensex was trading at 55,287.94, down 1723.8 points or 3.02 per cent, near the day’s low of 55,132.68. It recorded an intraday high of 56,538.15. The Nifty 50 was trading at 16,452.15, down 533.05 points or 3.14 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 16,840.10 and a low of 16,410.20.
The volatility index jumped 21.40 per cent to 19.84.
Only one stock- Cipla was trading in the green on the 50-share index Nifty 50. Tata Motors, BPCL, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Tata Steel were the top losers.
Further, rising inflation, Omicron concerns, US Fed’s unwinding of stimulus, input cost pressure for companies and lack of positive news are impacting market sentiment.
Parth Nyati, Founder. Tradingo said, “Indian equity markets are witnessing sharp correction on the back of rising worries of omicron, hawkish global central banks, and most importantly relentless selling by FIIs.”
“We are seeing the first meaningful correction in the current bull run and this correction has completed more than 10 per cent from highs,” added Nyati.
Tata Steel was the major loser among the Sensex 30 stocks, down over 5 per cent. IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, SBI, HDFC Bank, NTPC and Kotak Bank were the other major losers, down 3-4 per cent each.
Index heavweights, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, ITC, HDFC and ICICI Bank were also down around 2.5 per cent. On the positive front, Hindustan Unilever gained 1.6 per cent, and Dr.Reddy’s added a per cent.
Bajaj Auto plunged hit a fresh 52-week low at Rs 3,028, down 5 per cent, as the two-wheeler (2W) major was replaced with Wipro in the 30-share S&P BSE Sensex with effect from today.