Share Market Today: The two key equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday closed in the red amid a sharp fall in Adani Group stocks after Gautam Adani was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud.
The BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 423 points to end at 77,155. During the day, it lost 775 points to 76,802. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 slumped 169 points to 23,350.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Adani Ports, NTPC, SBI, ITC, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance were among the losers. On the flip side, PowerGrid, UltraCemco, TCS, HCLTech, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel emerged gainers.
All other Adani group stocks, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports and Adani Green Energy, fell sharply by up to nearly 23 per cent.
In the broader markets, BSE Midcap index declined 0.3 per cent and Smallcap index slipped 0.6 per cent.
Sectoral update
In the sectoral landscape, Energy, FMCG, Oil & Gas, PSU Bank, Media, Auto, and Metal sectors declined by 1-2 per cent, while the Realty index advanced by 1 per cent, and the Information Technology index edged up by 0.5 per cent.
The markets were closed on Wednesday, November 20, on account of Maharashtra Assembly polls.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the BSE Sensex rose 239 points to end at 77,578, while the NSE Nifty50 closed higher at 23,518, up 65 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,411.73 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Global update
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled lower, while Shanghai ended higher. European markets were trading in the negative territory. The US markets ended mostly in the positive zone.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.13 per cent to $73.71 a barrel.
Rupee at an all-time low
The rupee depreciated 8 paise to settle at an all-time low of 84.50 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, dragged down by massive sell-off in domestic equity markets and surging crude oil prices amid a volatile geopolitical situation.
According to forex traders, the American currency strengthened due to safe-haven appeal amid escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine, while the continuous outflow of foreign funds also put pressure on the domestic unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.41 and touched the lowest-ever level of 84.51 against the greenback during intra-day. The unit ended the session at 84.50 (provisional) against the dollar, surpassing its previous all-time low closing level of 84.46 recorded on November 14. On Tuesday, the rupee settled flat at 84.42 against the US dollar.