Informist, Monday, Mar 21, 2022
By Abhishek Saini
MUMBAI – After rising for the last two sessions, domestic benchmark equity indices fell today as inflation fears returned to the fore and dented investor sentiment amid rising crude oil and commodity prices.
The indices opened in the positive territory but soon turned choppy. Later, selling in the shares of banks and information technology companies saw the indices slip into the red.
The Nifty 50 ended 1% lower at 17117.60 points, slightly above its intraday low of 17096.40. The Sensex also ended 1% lower at 57292.49 points, off its intra-day low of 57229.08 points.
The market failed to build on the 4% gains seen last week that came due to short covering amid talks between Russia and Ukraine, and a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve along expected lines.
With Russia and Ukraine failing to reach an agreement to end the war between them, commodity prices bounced back, with Brent crude oil futures topping the $110-per-barrel mark. This prompted investors to pull out of equities.
The market is dancing to global tunes and it is unlikely to change anytime soon, said Ajit Mishra, vice president – research at Religare Broking. “Broadly, we reiterate our positive bias till Nifty 50 upholds the 16800 points zone. However, the key is to identify the sectors/stocks which are showing resilience and add them on dips,” he added.
Reports said that European Union may consider an embargo on Russian oil, which will further hit supply and make the commodity costlier.
As a direct result of commodity prices rising, shares of oil exploration companies and metal companies were up today. Shares of Oil & Natural Gas Corp and Hindalco Industries ended higher by 1.3% and 2.3%, respectively, and were among the top gainers on Nifty 50.
Coal India emerged as the top gainer in the Nifty 50 and ended more than 3% higher on improved earnings outlook.
However, the rise in commodity prices again raised fears of inflation for consumer facing companies like automobiles, paints, cement and fast-moving consumer goods and resulted in selling in these sectors.
Among other sectors, banks also fell and weighed down the headline indices. Losses of 1-2% in frontline banks like Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank saw the Nifty Bank index close 1.1% lower at 36018.50 points.
Information technology companies opened higher as US technology major Accenture Plc raised its sales growth guidance. However, amid an uncertain global environment, investors booked profits at higher levels, which saw the Nifty IT index slipping into the red and ending 0.8% lower.
In stock-specific action, shares of Ruchi Soya Industries slipped 20% intraday after the company announced a follow-on public offering at a discount of 39% to the floor price. The stock managed to pare some of its losses and ended 9% lower.
Among the gainers, select pharmaceutical companies like Aurobindo Pharma were up on receiving non-exclusive licence to manufacture and supply the generic of Pfizer’s oral COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid.
* Among Nifty 50 stocks, 9 rose, 39 fell and 2 were unchanged
* Among Sensex stocks, 5 rose and 25 fell
* On the NSE, 877 stocks rose, 1,217 fell and 65 were unchanged
* On the BSE, 1,550 stocks rose, 1,971 fell and 149 were unchanged
* Nifty Metal: Up 1.5%; Nifty Bank: Down 1.1%; Nifty IT: Down 0.8%
BSE National Stock Exchange
Sensex: 57292.49 points, down 571.44 pts (1%) Nifty 50: 17117.60 points, down 169.45 pts (1%)
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: 52842.75 (Mar 7) : 2022 Closing Low: 15863.15 (Mar 7)
2022 High (intraday): 61385.48 (Jan 17) : 2022 High (intraday): 18321.55 (Jan 17)
2022 Low (intraday): 52260.82 (Mar 8) : 2022 Low (intraday): 15671.45 (Mar 8)
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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