Sensex sinks 769 points, Nifty below 16,250; Titan, Maruti fall 5%, IT stocks up
Equity markets see-sawed in trade on Friday as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine escalated, with Russian forces attacking and seizing control over Europe’s largest nuclear power plant earlier today.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex opened with a 450-point cut and extended the losses to hit a low of 53,888, down 1,215 points intra-day. It, however, recovered partially and closed 769 points, or 1.4 per cent, down at 54,334.
The NSE Nifty, on the other hand, hit an intra-day low of 16,134 but recouped losses to end at 16,243, down 255 points or 1.5 per cent.
Maruti Suzuki tumbled another 4.7 per cent today, falling over 10 per cent in two days. The stock was the second biggest laggard on the Nifty50 index. Titan Company, Hero MotoCorp, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, HUL, Coal India, M&M, Hindalco, JSW Steel, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Eicher Motors were the other draggers, cracking between 3 and 5 per cent.
On the upside, Dr Reddy’s Labs, ITC, Tech M, BPCL, Sun Pharma, Ultratech Cement, and Wipro gained in the range of 1 to 3 per cent.
In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index declined 2.3 per cent with individual stocks such as Vodafone Idea, IRCTC, Jubilant Food, Info Edge, Zee Entertainment, Varun Beverages, and Indian Hotel falling up to 7 per cent.
The BSE SmallCap index, meanwhile, settled 1.3 per cent lower dragged by Power India, Vadilal Industries, MCX, Carborundum Universal, and KBC Global.
Sectorally, only the Nifty IT index eked out gain on the NSE, rising 0.14 per cent. The Nifty Auto index was the worst hit index today for a second straight day as it ended 3.3 per cent down today. All other remaining indices fell between 1 and 3 per cent.
Shares of Shakti Pumps (India) (SPIL) hit a 52-week low at Rs 473.50, down 4 per cent on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade amid growth concerns due to rising raw material costs.
Shares of Vadilal Industries slipped 10 per cent to Rs 1,190 in Friday’s intra-day trade on the BSE, falling 13 per cent in the past three trading days, after over 50 per cent surge in the month of February.
Shares of mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), banking giant HDFC Bank, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies – Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Britannia Industries, cement manufacturers – UltraTech Cement and Shree Cement, pharma stock Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp were among eight stocks from Nifty50 index to hit their respective 52-week low on the back of a sharp sell-off in equities in the past couple of weeks. Apart from these 26 other stocks from Nifty 500 were also down at 52-week lows.
Shares of Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) hit a new high of Rs 604.40, up 3 per cent on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade bucking the trend in an otherwise weak market. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 1.4 per cent at 54,320 at 09:58 am.
Shares of Asian Paints witnessed heavy selling pressure and were down 6 per cent at Rs 2,692.75 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade, falling as much as 15 per cent in past three trading sessions on margin concerns amid rising crude oil prices. The stock of the India’s largest paint company quoted at its lowest level since March 2021. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 2,343.85 on March 15, 2021.
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