Dalal Street halts 3-day winning streak as banks drag Sensex 155 points lower

NEW DELHI: Record rises in Covid-19 cases in the last few days put an end to a three-day winning streak on Dalal Street as benchmark indices slid into the red. Pharma and PSU bank stocks saw good buying interest while private bank scrips were under selling pressure.

Surging coronavirus cases have become a serious concern with an increasing number of cities and towns declaring night curfews. Unless this second wave of infections peaks out soon and subsides, economic activity will be impacted, according to analysts.

The 30-share pack Sensex fell 154.89 points or 0.31 per cent to close at 49,591.32. The index traded in a range of 445.9 points during the day. Its broader peer NSE Nifty slipped 38.95 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 14,834.85.


"Yet again, we witnessed a day when all the actions were in the broader market with pharmaceuticals doing well. Provisional data on direct tax collections for the last fiscal kept sentiments buoyant in select FMCG stocks," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

Market at a glance

• IT stocks rally ahead of Q4 earnings; Coforge gains 3%
• Fear gauge India VIX declines 3% to slide below the 20 mark; analysts say not to read too much into it
• Pharma stocks see rapid buying as Covid cases hit record levels
• IPO Watch: Macrotech Developers sails through thanks to QIBs
• Vodafone Idea ends in the green as the telecom company forays into IoT

Among the blue chip stocks, Cipla was the top gainer, rising 5.34 per cent. Sun Pharma, HUL, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consumer, Wipro, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Titan, JSW Steel and Tata Motors were other gainers.

Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 3.01 per cent. UPL, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Hindalco were other scrips that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended with gains, outperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap added 0.47 per cent and Nifty Midcap advanced 0.18 per cent. Nifty 500 -- the broadest index on NSE -- declined 0.11 per cent.

Bank of India, Dhani Services, Glenmark Pharma, Delta Corp, FDC and Lux Industries were top gainers from the mid- and small-cap indices, climbing in the range of 5-10 per cent.

HEG Infra, Graphite India, Gujarat Narmada Fertilisers, AU Small Finance Bank, Hindustan Zinc and IDF First Bank were major losers from the broader market space, falling in the range of 1-9 per cent.

The sectoral matrix was mixed on NSE. Nifty Pharma was the biggest gainer, up 3.04 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank followed with a 2.09 per cent rise. Nifty Bank, Nifty Metal and Nifty Financial Service were the top losers.

Overall market breadth was in favour of gainers as 1,662 stocks ended in the green, while 1,237 scrips settled with cuts. As many as 228 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the small-cap space. Meanwhile, 24 counters hit 52-week lows, mostly from the micro-cap space. About 310 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 182 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading mixed at the last count. London-based FTSE was down 0.28 per cent and Frankfurt 0.04 per cent, but Paris managed to rise 0.19 per cent. In Asia, barring Japan and Thailand, all markets ended the day in the red.