Mumbai, Nov 16 (PTI) Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled on Tuesday due to heavy selling in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and SBI amid a mixed trend in global markets.
The 30-share index declined by 396.34 points or 0.65 per cent to close at 60,322.37 after a volatile trade. The index hit a high of 60,802.79 points and a low of 60,199.56 in day trade.
The 50-issue Nifty tumbled 110.25 points or 0.61 per cent to end below the 18,000 level at 17,999.20 as 37 of its stocks declined.
Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.51 per cent. Among other losers, SBI sank 2.31 per cent, Ultratech Cement by 2.2 per cent, NTPC by 2.08 per cent and IndusInd by 1.8 per cent.
Pharma major Sun Pharma declined 1.63 per cent while Dr Reddy dropped 1.16 per cent. Private banks ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fell 1.14 per cent and 0.61 per cent, respectively.
On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki soared over 7 per cent to become lead gainer among both Sensex and Nifty scrips. Mahindra & Mahindra rose by 3.44 per cent on BSE and over 2 per cent on NSE. Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Infosys and Bajaj Finserv also advanced.
“The domestic market started trading between gains and losses before slipping into deep red with heavy selling in banking and pharma stocks. The RBI’s statement that equity market valuations are stretched added to the pressure,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services stated.
Arijit Malakar, Head Research (Retail) of Ashika Stock Broking, also said that RBI and other global brokerages have been cautious about Indian equity’s prospects, thus highlighting the risk to investment returns due to stretched valuation and elevated inflation.
“As Investors try to figure out the valuation disconnect between the recently listed digital entities versus their traditional counterparts who built distribution reach offline, the euphoria around the former seems to have set minds thinking, said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.
“As the street worries on inflationary pressures leading to companies raising prices and their consequent impact on demand, we saw a highly volatile trading session today,” he added
Sectorally, BSE energy, oil and gas, bankex, realty, healthcare and finance indices fell up to 2.12 per cent, while auto, capital goods, IT, industrials and teck indices ended in green.
Broader midcap index declined 0.22 per cent, while smallcap rose 0.18 per cent.
Global markets remained mixed as the Biden-Xi meeting ended with both the parties appealing for more cooperation.
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced no agreements after their virtual meeting. However they said the two governments need to tread carefully amid tension over a host of issues like trade and Taiwan.
Biden told Xi their goal should be to ensure competition does not veer into conflict. Xi said he was ready to build consensus and said the two sides need to improve communication.
In Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended in the red, while Hong Kong and Tokyo closed on a positive note. European markets were trading almost flat ahead of the release of Eurozone Q3 GDP and US retail sales data.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.72 per cent to USD 82.64 per barrel.
