Following intense sell-offs in financial and energy stocks as crude rose to its highest levels in nearly six months, key benchmark indices tumbled by over 1%, their biggest fall so far this calendar year.
BSE Sensex on Monday tanked 495.10 points to close at 38645.18, wiping away Rs 1.92 lakh crore of investor wealth. NSE Nifty ended at 11594.45, down 158.35 points.
Macroeconomic worries resurfaced on reports that the US will end sanctions waiver on Iranian oil imports. The weakening rupee and caution ahead of some key corporate results also affected investors' sentiments. Brent crude on Monday climbed to a multi-month high of $73.81 per barrel, up 2.56%.
Rising crude prices are negative for oil importing countries like India as they will lead to the widening of fiscal deficit and put the currency under pressure.
The 30-share BSE index settled 1.26% lower on Monday, with 27 stocks ending in the red. NSE Nifty tumbled 1.35%. Top losers were YES Bank, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, losing between 2.05% and 6.62%.
Gainers included Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, NTPC, Power Grid Corporation and Hindustan Unilever, up between 0.13% and 0.89%.
Of the 11 sectoral gauges on NSE, only Nifty IT ended in green with a gain of 0.44%. Nifty Realty led the fall with a 2.48% drop, followed by Nifty PSU Bank falling 2.45%. On the other hand, S&P BSE oil and gas fell 3.2% while S&P BSE Energy slipped 2.73%.
Meanwhile, shares of Jet Airways continued to fall for the third day in a row on Monday, tumbling over 23%. Running into debt of more than Rs 8,500 crore, Jet has shut down operations temporarily after lenders decided against extending emergency funds for its survival.
Nagaraj Shetti, senior technical and derivative analyst, HDFC Securities, said, "After showing higher levels of weakness, last Thursday, the Nifty slipped into a sharp weakness today (Monday) and closed the day lower by 158 points. A long negative candle was formed, which signals a sharp reversal in the Nifty from all-time highs. Nifty is currently nearing a crucial support of 11550 as per the concept of change in polarity. A decisive move below this support could result in more weakness for the near term."
According to Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, senior technical analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, towards the end of the last week, the Nifty had formed a bearish belt hold candle and a dark cloud cover on the daily chart. As a result, the Nifty started the expiry week on a significantly negative note. The index opened gap down on Monday and cracked throughout the day. The opening price for the day turned out to be the highest point for the day. Also, the gap up opening on April 16 along with Monday's gap down opening has left a bearish island on the daily chart. All these bearish developments are jeopardising the rally to a great extent. On the downside, the swing low of 11550 holds the key for further course of action. Breach of the swing low on closing basis shall entitle the Nifty for a deeper correction."
UP AND DOWN
- Top losers were YES Bank, IndusInd, RIL, ICICI, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, losing between 2.05% and 6.62
- Gainers were Airtel, TCS, Infosys, NTPC, Power Grid and Hind Unilever, up between 0.13% and 0.89%
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The 30-share BSE index settled 1.26% lower on Monday, with 27 stocks ending in the red. NSE Nifty tumbled 1.35%. Top losers were YES Bank, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, losing between 2.05% and 6.62%.
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