losing momentum with a weak note, almost all heavyweights, especially rate-sensitive shares including bank stocks, ended in the red in both the bourses. The BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled 374 points on Monday - the most in two weeks - tracking global sell-off ahead of the US presidential debate and an OPEC meeting due this week.
The most rate-linked shares, such as ONGC which was the top loser fell 3.84 per cent to close at Rs 250.50, followed by Tata Motors, 3.22 per cent to Rs 535.55. Besides, other stocks included ICICI Bank, NTPC, GAIl, Bharti Airtel, ITC, M&M, Hero MotoCorp, Hind Unilever and l&T, falling by up to 3.16 per cent as well.
The barometer closed at 28,294.28, a nearly 1-month low. Also, the broader NSE Nifty broke below the 8,800 level. Investors are also anxiously waiting for the upcoming monetary policy review on October 4, the first to be held under new RBI Governor Urjit Patel.
The broader Nifty also succumbed to selling pressure and slipped below the 8,800-mark to hit a low of 8,715.10 before ending at 8,723.05, down 108.50 points, or 1.23 per cent. “The market had mirrored the downswing in global equities which is impacted due to On Monday’s US presidential election debate. Additionally, the upcoming meeting on Wednesday of oil producers will be eagerly watched for any potential freeze in oil production, given the drop in oil prices,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
Investors’ sentiment was in tatters after heavy losses in Asia and a lower opening in Europe, mirroring weekend losses at the Wall Street due to lower crude oil prices. The slide came on the heels of a global rally last week fuelled by relief that US and Japanese central banks had decided to maintain their easy-money policies.
The 30-share index stayed in the negative zone for the whole day and settled lower by 373.94 points, or 1.30 per cent -- its biggest single-day fall since September 12 -- at 28,294.28. This is the weakest closing since August 29 when it had closed at 27,902.66. It had lost 105 points on Friday.
Coal India, however, struck a contrarian note as it topped the gainers list by rising 1.19 per cent. RIl gained 0.58 per cent to close at Rs 1,109.35 after touching a 7-year high of Rs 1,128.90 on the back of strong fundamentals. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) also turned net sellers at Rs 299.98 crore on Friday, according to provisional data.
Out of the 30-share Sensex, 25 ended lower. Realty fell the most by 2 per cent, followed by auto 1.72 per cent, infrastructure 1.62 per cent, banking 1.56 per cent and FMCG 1.37 per cent while oil & gas and metal rose 0.08 per cent each. Small-cap and mid-cap indices closed lower by 0.55 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.
Most Asian bourses like Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.25 per cent and Shanghai Composite plunged 1.76 per cent while Hang Seng sank 1.58 per cent. In Europe, most indices retreated, with london’s FTSE falling 1.22 per cent, France’s Paris CAC-30 1.83 per cent and Germany’s Frankfurt 1.49 per cent in their early hours.
“Upcoming F&O expiry and US presidential debate have also put the focus on FII action while SUUTI stake sale prospects kept a few index stocks under pressure,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
lupin, Dr Reddy’s and TCS managed to close in the positive zone. The market breadth remained negative as 1,655 stocks ended in the red, 1,039 stocks finished in the green while 215 ruled steady. The total turnover on BSE shrank to Rs 3,435.24 crore from the Rs 3,871.71 crore in the previous trading session.