Sensex slips 102 points, Nifty holds 18,100; ITC drops 3%; IRB Infra zooms 20%
Financial shares came to the rescue of the benchmark indices for the second straight day, as select index heavyweights weighed under selling pressure.
The BSE benchmark index, the Sensex, opened 120-odd points higher at 61,044, and rallied to a high of 61,420 on the back of fresh buying in early trades. Selling pressure re-emerged in second half of the trading session, with ITC, technology and metal stocks leading the fall. The BSE 30-share index slid to a low of 60,551 – down 869 points from the day’s high.
The Sensex eventually ended with a minor loss of 100 points at 60,822. The NSE Nifty from a high of 18,314, dropped to a low of 18,034, and finally settled 63 points lower at 18,115. The India VIX declined 1.8 per cent to 17.70.
Among sectors, the Bank Nifty rallied to a fresh all-time high at 40,587, and ended 0.7 per cent higher at 40,315. The Realty index surged 2.4 per cent to 509.75. On the flip side, the NSE Metal index tumbled over 3 per cent to 5,686. The Media index shed 2.3 per cent, while the ITC and Pharma indices were down 1.5 per cent each.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down over a per cent each. The overall breadth too was fairly negative, with 1,967 declining stocks versus 1,327 advancing shares on the BSE.
HDFC was the major gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks, the stock rose 2.2 per cent to Rs 2,907. Bajaj Auto, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and Titan were the other notable gainers. Whereas, ITC shed 3.4 per cent at Rs 236.50. Maruti, NTPC, Infosys, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, Nestle India, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro and TCS were the other significant losers.
IRB Infra ended with a gain of 20 per cent at Rs 293 ahead of the company’s board meet to consider a proposal for raising funds and Q2 results on October 26. RVNL, HSIL, RITES and Jindal World were some of the other major gainers.
KEC International surged 12 per cent to a record high of Rs 522 after the company announced that it has secured new orders of Rs 1,829 crore across its various businesses.
Shares of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) rallied 10 per cent to Rs 832.85 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade, after the company posted strong earnings for the second quarter ended September 2021 (Q2FY21) and also announced bonus shares in the ratio of 2:1.
Here are some picks from the week gone by.
