Indian equity benchmarks fell amid choppy trade on Monday as investors returned to trade after a long weekend. Losses in financial, IT and oil & gas shares pulled the headline indices lower though gains in metal shares provided some support. Nervousness prevailed among global markets as the Russia-Ukraine war drove up oil prices and weighed on investors' appetite for riskier assets.
Both benchmark indices finished the volatile session one percent lower. The Sensex shed 571.4 points to end at 57,292.5 and the Nifty50 settled at 17,117.6, down 169.5 points from its previous close.
Among blue-chip stocks, Britannia, Grasim, Tata Consumer, Shree Cement, SBI Life, PowerGrid, UltraTech and Asian Paints -- closing between 2.8 percent and 3.5 percent lower -- were the top losers.
On the other hand, Coal India, Hindalco, UPL, ONGC and HDFC Bank -- up between 0.5 percent and 3.3 percent -- rose the most among the 10 gainers in the Nifty50 universe.
ICICI Bank, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC and Hindustan Unilever were the biggest drags for both headline indices.
IT stocks failed to stay in the green even as Accenture posted a strong set of quarterly numbers and raised its guidance. The Nifty IT declined 0.8 percent at the close, having reversed direction after rising as much as 1.4 percent earlier in the day. TCS declined 1.4 percent and Infosys 0.1 percent.
Global oil benchmark Brent futures topped the $110 a barrel mark once again amid tight supplies. ONGC shares rose 1.5 percent.
"With no significant improvement in the tensions between Russia and Ukraine and uncertainty in the Gulf region, crude prices surged leading to a sell-off in the domestic market after the recent rally," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
The Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services indices fell more than one percent for the day.
On the other hand, the Nifty Metal was the biggest sectoral gainer, rising 1.5 percent.
Broader markets finished the day on a mixed note. The Nifty Midcap 100 declined 0.3 percent though its smallcap counterpart advanced 0.2 percent.
In the midcap and smallcap segments, Sunteck Realty, Bharat Dynamics, IGL, Future Retail and Dhani Services -- declining around 5-8 percent -- were the top losers. Jubilant Life, Sterlite Tech, Delta Corp, Valiant Organics and Wockhardt -- surging 10-20 percent -- were the top gainers.
Overall market breadth favoured the bears with an advance-decline ratio of 3:4, as 877 stocks rose on NSE and 1,217 fell.
The India VIX -- also known as the fear index -- jumped as much as 9.3 percent to 24.7 during the session. Late last month, Russia's move to invade Ukraine had sent the gauge soaring to a 20-month high.
Global markets
European equities began the day on a mixed note amid choppy trade as fighting in Ukraine rages on with no sign of a ceasefire even as diplomatic efforts continued. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was flat in early hours.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.1 percent, suggesting a sluggish start ahead on Wall Street.
Technical view
Mohit Nigam, Head-PMS at Hem Securities, sees immediate support for the Nifty50 at 17,000 and resistance at 17,500. For the banking index, he sees immediate support at 35,500 and resistance at 36,500.
"We may see some positive momentum in the IT sector in the short term after Accenture's strong revenue growth and upward revision in revenue guidance. Some margin pressure can be seen in Indian IT companies too owing to wage inflation and elevated attrition," he said.
First Published: Mar 21, 2022 3:16 PM IST
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