Sensex Declines 339 Points, Nifty Trades Below 17,750; IT Stocks Drag

Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro, HUL, Kotak Bank, HDFC twins, Reliance, Axis Bank, and M&M were the top laggards on the Sensex, while SBI Life was the top Nifty loser

Nifty FMCG and Nifty IT were underperforming the index by falling as much as 0.68 per cent and 0.90 per cent, respectively. Image: Getty

New Delhi: The key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday opened trade in the red taking cues from the weak global sentiment.

At 10 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 339 points to 59,107, while the NSE Nifty was trading at 17,687, down 97 points.

Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro, HUL, Kotak Bank, HDFC twins, Reliance, Axis Bank, and M&M were the top laggards on the Sensex, while SBI Life was the top Nifty loser.

On the other hand, NTPC, PowerGrid, Ultratech Cement, Sun Pharma, SBI, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, BPCL, and Cipla were the top gainers across the bourses.

The broader markets opened in the green. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up to 0.6 per cent higher.

Six out of the 15 sector gauges, compiled by NSE, were trading in the red. Nifty FMCG and Nifty IT were underperforming the index by falling as much as 0.68 per cent and 0.90 per cent, respectively. Nifty Bank, Financials, and FMCG were the other losers. Meanwhile, Nifty Metals, Pharma, PSBs, and Oil & Gas indices were firm gainers.

Among stocks, Ruchi Soya rose over 7 per cent after its board approved evaluating modes to enhance synergies with Patanjali Ayurved’s food portfolio on an arm’s length basis. Further, the board gave its nod to change the company's name to Patanjali Foods.

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services told the PTI that Q4 results, particularly of leading financials, and guidance from IT majors will influence the market in the coming days.

On Friday, the BSE Sensex climbed 412.23 points (0.70 per cent) to settle at 59,447.18, while the Nifty gained 144.80 points (0.82 per cent) to finish at 17,784.35.

In Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo were trading lower in mid-session deals. Stocks in the US ended mostly lower on Friday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.39 per cent to $100.32 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued to offload shares worth Rs 575.04 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.