Stock Market: Sensex Tanks 360 Points, Nifty Holds 16,600; Reliance Sinks Over 3 Per Cent

Stock update: Reliance was top loser, tanked 3.76 per cent. The other laggards from the pack were Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, HDFC, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, and ITC on the BSE

The BSE MidCap and SmallCap, which erased their opening gains, were trading slightly up to 0.4 per cent lower in the broader markets.

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The key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday declined sharply, largely dragged down by Reliance Industries (RIL) and weak global equity markets.

At 10.30 am, the BSE Sensex dropped 360 points to 55,711 in early trade, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 16,611, down 108 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Reliance was top loser, tanked 3.76 per cent despite the company clocking 46 per cent jump in June quarter net profit. The other laggards from the pack were Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, HDFC, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, and ITC.

On the flip side, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

On specific stocks, shares of ICICI Bank were trading 1 per cent higher post announcement of its June quarter earnings. ICICI Bank on Saturday reported a 55.04 per cent jump in June quarter consolidated net profit to Rs 7,384.53 crore, helped by a sharp reduction in provisions and strong core interest income.

The BSE MidCap and SmallCap, which also erased their opening gains, were trading slightly up to 0.4 per cent lower in the broader markets.

On NSE, seven out of the 15 sector gauges were trading in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Pharma were underperforming the NSE platform by falling as much as 1.43 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively.

The overall market breadth was slightly positive as 1,364 shares were advancing, while 1,252 were declining on the BSE.

“RIL’s results, though impressive on the telecom and retail front, fell slightly below expectations in the refining space. ICICI Bank’s results are the best in the banking segment,” said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

In the Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading lower, while Seoul quoted in the green. The US markets had ended on a lower note on Friday.

In the previous session on Friday, the Sensex jumped 390 points (0.70 per cent) to settle at 56,072, while the Nifty climbed 114 points (0.69 per cent) to 16,719.45.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.53 per cent to $102.70 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 675.45 crore on Friday, as per exchange data.