Lockdowns send Sensex tumbling 871 points, investors poorer by Rs 2.1 lakh crore

NEW DELHI: The reimposition of lockdowns in parts of the country sank Dalal Street bulls on Monday as benchmark indices lost nearly 2 per cent in a market-wide selloff. Large-cap IT stocks bucked the trend, showing some resilience.

The second wave of Covid-19 infections in India is getting bigger than anticipated earlier, and is expected to ruin the pace of economic recovery, analysts said. This is also leading to a sharp rise in volatility, making trading risky, they added.

The 30-share pack Sensex plummeted 870.51 points or 1.74 per cent to close at 49,159.32, having plunged 1,450 points at the weakest level of the day. Its broader peer NSE Nifty tumbled 229.55 points or 1.54 per cent to settle at 14,637.80.


“High valuation added further concern due to a possible downgrade in Q1 FY22 earnings. Barring IT, metal and telecom, all sectors remained in the red. A policy decision in the upcoming MPC announcement and Q4 earnings will define market volatility in the coming days,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Investors' wealth decreased by Rs 2.1 lakh crore as the cumulative market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies came down to Rs 207.26 lakh crore.

Market at a glance

• Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank drop 6% each
• Fear gauge India VIX spikes 6.1% to 21.21
• IT stocks rally ahead of Q4 earnings; Nifty IT rises 2%
• Metal stocks continue their forward march led by SAIL's 7% jump
• Notwithstanding market crash, 164 stocks hit 52-week highs

Among the blue chip stocks, HCL Tech was the top gainer, rising 3.19 per cent. TCS, Wipro, Britannia Industries, Infosys, JSW Steel, Shree Cement and Bharti Airtel were other gainers.

Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 5.74 per cent. IndusInd Bank, SBI, Eicher Motors, M&M, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, ITC and Axis Bank were other counters that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended with cuts but still outperformed their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap fell 1.46 per cent and Nifty Midcap 1.32 per cent. The broadest index on NSE -- the Nifty 500 -- dropped 1.45 per cent.

Fortius Healthcare, SAIL, Dr Lal Pathlabs, Thyrocare Technologies, Avanti Feeds and Tanla Platforms were top gainers from the mid- and small-cap indices, climbing in the range of 5-8 per cent.

Going forward, government actions to curb the surge would be one of the important factors to watch out for investors. Further, the upcoming RBI monetary policy would be actively tracked by investors.

-Ajit Mishra, Religare Broking

Canara Bank, Dhani Services, Aditya Birla Fashion Retail, APL Apollo, BEML and Quess Corps were major losers from the broader market space, falling in the range of 5-7 per cent.

Barring Nifty IT and Nifty Metal, which rose 1.97 per cent and 0.89 per cent, respectively, all sectors on NSE ended in the red. Nifty PSU Bank crashed 4.10 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Realty, Nifty Financial Service and Nifty Media dropped over 3 per cent each.

Overall market breadth was in favour of losers as 1,058 stocks ended in the green, while 1,898 counters settled with cuts. As many as 164 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the small-cap space. Meanwhile, 62 scrips hit 52-week lows, mostly from the micro-cap space. About 320 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 300 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading higher at the last count. London-based FTSE was up 0.35 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt added 0.59 per cent and 0.66 per cent, respectively. In Asia, apart from Thailand and Indonesia, all markets ended in the green.