Sensex extends losses to third straight day as financial stocks weigh on Dalal Street

NEW DELHI: The bumpy ride on Dalal Street continued for a third straight day on Wednesday as bank and financial stocks weighed on benchmark indices.

The market started on a strong note but gave up gains in afternoon deals on profit booking. The broader markets however saw plenty of action across specific themes. Paper stocks stood out with the top three players witnessing smart accumulation.

The 30-share pack Sensex declined 66.95 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 52,482.71. Its broader peer NSE Nifty dropped 26.95 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 15,721.50.


“Negative sentiments from global markets dropped investor’s risk appetite forcing the market to close flat. The global markets are eyeing the release of the US job data for June due this week, which is crucial for the US Fed’s monetary policy decision," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market at a glance:

• Kitex Garments plunges 8% after co withdrew from Kerala project
• Uflex jumps 19% after Q4 profit doubles
• IOB, Central Bank rally 9-10% ahead of PM's meet on divestment
• IT stocks see buying interest; all other sectors on NSE end in the red
• Broader market defies trend; demand continues for midcap & smallcap stocks

Among the blue-chip names, Coal India was the top gainer, rising 1.85 per cent. Reliance Industries, Divi’s Labs, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, SBI Life Insurance and Maruti Suzuki were among other gainers.

Shree Cement was the top loser in the Nifty50 pack, falling 1.90 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, UPL, ICICI Bank, ONGC, NTPC, Eicher Motors and HDFC were other shares that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended higher, outperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap added 0.22 per cent and Nifty Midcap rose 0.26 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended down 0.06 per cent.

Tata Elxsi, Cummins India, Power Finance Corporation, Happiest Minds Technologies, Sterling Wilson Solar and Dilip Buildcon were among top gainers from midcap and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 4-9 per cent.

Affle India, EID Parry, Sunteck Realty, Adani Total Gas, AU Small Finance Bank and IDFC First Bank were among major losers from the broader market space, falling in the range of 2-5 per cent.

Barring Nifty IT, which ended up 0.63 per cent, all sectoral indices on NSE closed lower. Nifty Media was the top loser, down 0.79 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Private Bank were other major losers.

Participants will also be closely eyeing the auto sales and PMI data for cues. Meanwhile, we reiterate our advice to restrict naked leveraged positions and wait for clarity.

-Ajit Mishra, Religare Broking

Market breadth was in favour of gainers as 1,707 stocks ended in the green while 1,530 counters settled with cuts. As many as 461 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 22 scrips hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 495 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 290 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading lower at the last count. London-based FTSE was down 0.52 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt declined 0.85 per cent and 0.97 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand closed in the red while all other markets ended in the red.