Stock Market: Sensex Ends In The Red, Settles 85 Points Lower; Nifty At 17,069

Stock Update: On the BSE, IndusInd Bank was the top gainer, settling 4 per cent. While NTPC, Tata Steel, HDFC, PowerGrid, and ITC were the other major gainers

New Delhi: The key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday closed in the negative for the second consecutive session, taking cues from weak global sentiments.

The 30-share BSE platform had hit a low of 56,412 on the BSE in early morning deals. However, later it recouped most of the losses and eventually ended at 56,976, down 85 points. On other hand, the broader NSE Nifty50 closed at 17,069, down 33 points.

On the BSE, IndusInd Bank was the top gainer, settling 4 per cent, after the lender reported better-than-expected Q4 results. While NTPC, Tata Steel, HDFC, PowerGrid, and ITC were the other major gainers.

On the flip side, Titan sank 3 per cent, followed by Wipro, Tech M, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki, and Asian Paints.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices, in the broader markets, closed 0.45 per cent and 0.8 per cent down, respectively.

On the NSE, seven of the 15 sector gauges closed in the negative zone. Sectorwise, sub-indexes Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty IT, and Nifty Auto underperformed by declining about 2.02 per cent, 1.53 per cent, and 1.26 per cent, respectively. Nifty Metal and Private Bank indices were the top gainers (gaining 0.5 per cent each).

On Friday’s trading, Sensex sank 460 points (0.80 per cent) to close at 57,061, while Nifty was down 142 points (0.83 per cent) lower to close at 17,103.

In the Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled lower, while Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed for holidays. Exchanges in Europe were also trading lower in the afternoon session. In the US, stocks had ended significantly lower on Friday.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.61 per cent to $104.3 per barrel.

According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 3,648.30 crore on Friday, after they turned net buyers on Thursday.

"The recent hawkish turn by Fed has made investors extra cautious ahead of the upcoming Fed meeting triggering high volatility in the market. The rising dollar index, FII selling spree and elevated commodity prices further hammered the risk sentiment. On the other hand, domestic numbers like GST collection, auto sales numbers and manufacturing PMI for the month of April gave a sense of an improving economic outlook," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, told the PTI.

On account of Eid-Ul-Fitr stock markets will remain closed on Tuesday.