Informist, Wednesday, Mar 2, 2022
By Ankika Biswas
MUMBAI – The benchmark share indices fell 2% today, snapping a two-day rise, as the bears took advantage of the persistent rise in crude oil prices with the situation between Russia and Ukraine worsening.
Investors were on edge globally as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered the sixth day, raising concerns over economic disruptions and pushing commodity prices higher.
Brent crude oil price rose to the highest level since 2014 of $113 per barrel on concerns over disruption of supply because of the strict set of sanctions imposed by the US and allies on Russia. This weighed on investor sentiment as rising crude oil prices could fan inflation and would have a bearing on the margins of companies.
Not only crude oil, but base metal prices have also been on the rise, with aluminium prices scaling all-time highs.
However, reports that Russia is ready to resume talks with Ukraine and that it won’t violate the borders of other countries somewhat comforted investor sentiment and helped the benchmark indices end sharply off the day’s lows.
The Nifty 50 slipped below the 16500-point mark early in the day, with most frontline sectors in the red. The index closed more than 1% lower at 16605.95 points, after falling to 16478.65 points during the day. The Sensex ended 1.4% lower at 55468.90 points, after testing an intraday low of 55020.10 points.
The anxiety among investors remained elevated, as reflected in the fear gauge India VIX, which surged 7.5% intraday to a high of 30.8425 points.
Banks were among the worst-hit sectors. Their shares slumped due to likely selling by foreign institutional investors, who have turned to haven assets of late against risky bets like equities.
As most frontline banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank notched sharp losses, the Nifty Bank index closed 2.3% lower at 35372.80 points.
Another sector that saw heavy selling pressure was automobiles, due to weak wholesale sale numbers for February amid weak rural demand and high fuel prices. In fact, the fall was more prominent among two-wheeler companies like Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor Co and Bajaj Auto, which were down 3-4%.
The Nifty Auto index ended nearly 3% lower at 10500.45 points.
While most sectors remain under selling pressure, metals, energy and oil companies continued to buck the trend as rising commodity prices favoured their earnings outlook.
Shares of Coal India ended 9% higher, as coal prices surged to record high globally due to supply disruptions amid Russia-Ukraine war.
Shares of life insurance companies also surged due to favourable risk-reward ratio, after undergoing heavy selling ahead of the public issue of Life Insurance Corp of India. Positive views from CLSA Asia Pacific Markets and reports that the government may review the timing of LIC issue amid Russia-Ukraine crisis are likely to have triggered the buying today.
However, the trend in the broader market was pretty mixed, as most mid- and small-cap indices on the National Stock Exchange ended 0.6% down to 0.9% higher.
* Among Nifty 50 stocks, 16 rose and 34 fell
* Among Sensex stocks, 7 rose and 23 fell
* On the NSE, 1,055 stocks rose, 1,032 fell and 47 were unchanged
* On the BSE, 1,692 stocks rose, 1,652 fell and 114 were unchanged
* Nifty Metal: Up 4.07%; Nifty Bank: down 2.3%; Nifty Auto: Down 2.96%
BSE National Stock Exchange
Sensex: 55468.90, down 778.38 pts (1.1%) Nifty 50: 16605.95, down 187.95 pts (1.4%)
S&P BSE Sensitive Index Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 62245.43 (Oct 19) : Lifetime High: 18604.45 (Oct 19)
Record Close High: 61765.59 (Oct 18) : Record Close High: 18477.05 (Oct 18)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan 3) : 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan 3)
2022 Closing High: 61308.91 (Jan 17) : 2022 Closing High: 18308.10 (Jan 17)
2022 Closing Low: 54529.91 (Feb 24) : 2022 Closing Low: 16247.95 (Feb 24)
2022 High (intraday): 61385.48 (Jan 17) : 2022 High (intraday): 18321.55 (Jan 17)
2022 Low (intraday): 54383.20 (Feb 24) : 2022 Low (intraday): 16203.25 (Feb 24)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct 14) : 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan 29) : 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct 14) : 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan 29) : 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec 31) : 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar 23) : 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec 31) : 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar 24) : 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec 20) : 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb 19) : 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug 28)) : 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar 23) : 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec 26) : 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec 26)
End
Edited by Ashish Shirke
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