Bears prowled on Dalal Street on Friday as recession fears hammered global equities. Key indices crumbled under heavy selling pressure today with banks (especially in the public sector), auto, IT, metal, and realty stocks plunging the most on the bourses. Their respective indices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) declined around 2-4 per cent.
At the headline level, the S&P BSE Sensex crashed 1,247 points intra-day before ending at 58,841, down 1,093 points or 1.82 per cent. The NSE Nifty50, too, sunk to a low of 17,505 before shutting shop at 17,551, down 326 points or 1.82 per cent.
The broader markets witnessed an equally brutal on-slaught with the Nifty MidCap 100 and SmallCap 100 falling in the range of 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent. Volatility index — India VIX — surged 8 per cent today to settle near 20-odd level.
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Benchmark indices climbed off the day’s top but still ended around 0.5 per cent higher on Friday amid buying in IT, auto, and FMCG counters.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,021, up 178 points or 0.5 per cent, having risen to as high as 36,110 earlier in the day. The Nifty50 index settled above the 10,600 level at 10,607, up 56 points or 0.53 per cent. India VIX slipped 3 per cent to 25.69 levels.
On a weekly basis, Sensex gained 2.41 per cent while Nifty added 2.16 per cent.
Bharti Airtel (up 4 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (up 2.5 per cent) were the top Sensex gainers. Reliance Industries gained 1.5 per cent after the company announced that Intel has invested Rs 1,894.5 crore in Jio Platforms for a 0.39 per cent stake.
Further, shares of defence companies rallied in the trade and climbed up to 12 per cent on the BSE after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved the purchase of weapons and equipment worth Rs 38,900 crore. Bharat Dynamics ended 12.55 per cent higher at Rs 375.80 on the BSE while Bharat Electronics gained 9 per cent to Rs 97.25
Moreover, JB Chemicals rose 3 per cent during the day after it said global investment firm KKR will pick up a controlling stake of 54 per cent in the company. The stock, however, ended flat. Meanwhile, HDFC Life gained around 4.5 per cent as the company will replace Vedanta on Nifty with effect from July 31.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index rose 0.56 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index gained 0.47 per cent
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