Sensex closes 167 points lower, Nifty drops below 14,600 on report of fire in vaccine facility

NEW DELHI: The euphoria of morning turned into a stunned silence by the time dust settled for the historic day when Sensex hit the 50,000 mark for the first time ever, as news of fire in a Covid vaccine facility wiped out all gains for benchmark indices on Thursday.

Videos posted on social media and news reports claiming that a fire broke out on the second floor of Serum Institute of India plant in Pune spooked investors, who were buying in hopes of a vaccine eradicating the coronavirus risk.

The 30-share pack Sensex dropped 167.36 points or 0.34 per cent to close at 49,624.76. Before that, the 30-scrip index gyrated in a nearly 800-point range. Its broader peer NSE Nifty slid 54.35 points or 0.37 per cent to 14,590.35.


“What a day for Sensex to hit 50k...21st Day of the 21st Year, of the 21st Century! However, we believe this is more of a mental milestone but an important one. Since booking the profit is better than looking the profit, we advise to take some profits around Nifty 14,800/15,000 levels & keep portfolio’s hedged,” said Rahul Sharma, Head-Technical and Derivatives Research, JM Financial Services.

Market at a glance:

• Reliance Industries gains 3% ahead of earnings scheduled on Friday
• Bajaj Finance gains 3% after Q3 show, Bajaj Finserv 1%
• India VIX climbs 3% as volatility rises reflecting nervousness
• All sectors end in the red, Nifty PSU Bank top sectoral loser
• 281 stocks hit 52-week highs: L&T, MRF, Siemens, Voltas, TaMo, Havells and Bosch and Bajaj Auto top names

Among the bluechip names, Tata Motors was the top gainer, rising 6.38 per cent. Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Auto, UPL, Eicher Motors, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finserv were other gainers.

ONGC was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 3.34 per cent. Tata Steel, Coal India, GAIL, NTPC, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Adani Ports and Sun Pharma were others that ended in the red.

Broader market indices closed with cuts underperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap fell 0.64 per cent and Nifty Midcap skidded 1.22 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, dropped 0.52 per cent.

Crompton Greaves Consumer, Whirlpool of India, Voltas, SML Isuzu, CEAT and JK Tyre were top gainers from mid- and small-cap indices, climbing in the range of 5-12 per cent.

Cholamandalam Finance, Indraprastha Gas, BHEL, Indian Bank, Everest Industries and Tata Elxsi were major losers from broader market space, falling in the range of 4-8 per cent.

All sectoral indices on NSE closed with gains. Nifty PSU Bank dropped the most, down 3.27 per cent. Nifty Metal, Nifty Media and Nifty Realty fell more than 2 per cent each. Nifty Bank and Nifty Pharma were other major gainers.