Sensex Down 504 Points, Nifty Below 17,400; Tega Industries Sees Bumper Listing on Debut

Losses in auto, financial, and oil and gas also dragged the indices lower, though gains in IT and metal shares lent some support

The BSE at Dalal Street in Mumbai

New Delhi: The Indian key equity benchmarks — Sensex and Nifty50 — erased early morning gains in a choppy Monday session and reversed their course during the day on the back of weakness in some shares, FMCG, and index heavyweight Reliance Industries.

Losses in auto, financial, and oil and gas also dragged the indices lower, though gains in IT and metal shares lent some support. However, broader indices remained flat.

The Sensex had started the day on a positive note and rallied to a high of 59,203. The index, however, erased gains and tumbled to a low of 58,243, down 960 points from the day’s high.

Finally, the Sensex ended 504 points lower at 58,283, while the Nifty 50 index dropped 143 points to 17,368.

On the positive front, Axis Bank and Tech Mahindra gained nearly 2.5 per cent each. PowerGrid Corporation and Maruti were the other notable gainers.

Selling pressure was broad-based as all the 15 sector gauges, barring the measure of IT shares, ended lower led by the Nifty Media index’s 1.8 per cent fall. Nifty Financial Services, FMCG, PSU Bank, Realty and Oil and Gas indices also fell between 0.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent. Mid- and small-cap shares also succumbed to profit taking as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.25 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 0.11 per cent.

Bajaj Finance was top Nifty loser. The stock fell 3 per cent to close at Rs 7,230. Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consumer Products, Nestle India, Indian Oil, Britannia Industries, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, HDFC Life, and Eicher Motors also dipped between 1.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,912 shares ended higher, while 1,553 closed lower on the BSE.

However, Tega Industries, which made market debut on Monday, soared 68 per cent. The stock opened at Rs 760 rupees, compared with the offer price of Rs 453, valuing the mining equipment maker at Rs 1,039 crore. Tega Industries’ shares got listed at a premium on the BSE and NSE. MedPlus Health Services’ IPO also opened for subscription.