Stock Market: Sensex Climbs 166 Points. Nifty Holds 18,200 Amid Volatility. Auto, Financials Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Airtel, Kotak Bank, HCL, Tech, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, HUL, and others were the early winners

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Thursday that opened trade in the red recouped early losses during early morning trade. The domestic indices plunged sharply on fears of a global slowdown amid Covid-19 fears in China and likely recession in the US and Europe weighed on cyclical sectors.

At 9.50 am, the S&P Sensex was up 166 points to 61,232, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 18,235, up 36 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Airtel, Kotak Bank, HCL, Tech, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, HUL, and others were the early winners. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel were trading on the losing side.

Autos, financials, metals, and realty stocks led the losses with nearly 1 per cent cut each on their respective sectoral indices.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index fell 0.6 per cent, while the SmallCap index dropped over 1 per cent.

Among individual stocks, shares of Reliance Industries were wee bit in red amid market weakness. The retail arm Reliance Retail acquired a complete stake in METRO Cash & Carry India for Rs 2,850 crore.

The US stock markets edged higher overnight, supported by strong quarterly results and improved investor sentiments. All major indices in Wall Street – Dow Jones, NASDAQ Composite, and the S&P 500 closed above 1 per cent. Markets in Asia-Pacific, meanwhile, were mixed this morning as Nikkei 225, Topix, Kospi, and Shanghai Composite indices fell up to 0.6 per cent. The S&P 200, and Hang Seng indices, however, rose up to 1 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 635 points (1.03 per cent) to close at 61,067. On the other hand, the Nifty50 settled at 18,199, down 186 points (1.01 per cent).

Meanwhile, the rupee strengthened against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday due to a weak greenback in the overseas markets and early gains in domestic equity markets.

Firm crude oil prices and forex outflows from capital markets, however, restricted the rupee’s gains, according to forex dealers. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened higher at 82.78 to a dollar against the previous close of 82.84. The domestic unit appreciated further to hit a high of 82.73 before trading at 82.74 at 0930 hrs, showing gains of 10 paise over the previous close.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.45 per cent to $82.57 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,119.11 crore, according to exchange data.