Sensex Down Over 450 Points, Nifty Tests 24,000; Ola Electric Drops 5%
Indian benchmark equity indices, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, opened with a subdued start on Monday, following weaker-than-expected GDP growth figures for the September quarter.
At the opening bell, the BSE Sensex stood at 79,496.63, down by 306 points or 0.38%, while the Nifty 50 was at 24,140.85, gaining 9.75 points or 0.04%.
Following the market open, only six stocks were trading in the green, led by Maruti Suzuki (up 1.97%), followed by Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports & SEZ, UltraTech Cement, and Tech Mahindra. The broader market remained in the red, with losses led by NTPC (down 1.10%), followed by TCS, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, and Infosys.
On the Nifty 50, 16 out of 50 stocks were in positive territory. Maruti Suzuki India led the gains (up 1.79%), followed by Sun Pharma, Shriram Finance, Apollo Hospital Enterprises, and Bajaj Auto. On the downside, HDFC Life (down 1.34%) led the losses, followed by ONGC, NTPC, Infosys, and Eicher Motors.
Across sectors, the Consumer Durables index was the top gainer, rising 0.57%, followed by Healthcare, Pharma, Media, and Auto indices. On the downside, the Oil & Gas index was the biggest loser, falling 0.98%, followed by the Bank, FMCG, Financial Services, IT, and Metal indices.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 rose by 0.10%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 was up by 0.04%.
Global Cues
That apart, markets in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mixed. Over the weekend, China’s November manufacturing PMI came in at 50.3 — its highest level since April — beating the 50.2 expected by economists polled by Reuters. The figure was 50.1 in October.
On Monday, the CSI 300 was trading higher by 0.57 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite was ahead by 0.36 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading ahead by 0.73 per cent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was lower by 0.31 per cent, while the broad-based Topix was 0.45 per cent higher.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.45 per cent, and the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.18 per cent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was ahead by 0.3 per cent.