Sensex closed 839 points or 2.13 percent to close at 38,628.29.
The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indices fell sharply on Monday as investor sentiment spooked amid escalating geopolitical tensions between India and China. Investors also became cautious ahead of the release of official data on the country’s GDP for the April-June period. The Sensex index slumped to 1,614 points from a six-month high of 40,010.17 to drop below the 39,000 mark. The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 11,325.85 at the weakest level of the day, having risen to 11,794.25.
The Sensex closed 839 points or 2.13 percent to close at 38,628.29 and Nifty fell 260 points or 2.23 percent to close at 11,387.50.
Earlier in the day, both indices had staged gap-up openings as investors applauded the government’s move to further ease restrictions related to the pandemic. However, the momentum was short-lived.
India is likely entering its deepest recession on record, which is expected to last into the second half of the fiscal year, as the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect demand, making it difficult for activity to pick up. economic and business.
In a major outbreak in Ladakh, Chinese troops “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo” near Pangong Tso Lake on Saturday night, but were blocked by Indian soldiers, the government said on Friday. The events occurred during the night between August 29 and 30, according to an Army statement.
“Markets were overbought and at euphoric levels. Rising geopolitical tensions between India and China after Indian soldiers blocked Chinese troops near Pangong Tso Lake and reports that India’s economic growth will be the worst among the G20 nations are scaring investor sentiment, “AK Prahakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, told NDTV.
The selling pressure was visible across all sectors as the 19 sector indicators compiled by BSE ended lower led by the nearly 5% decline in the S&P BSE Realty Index. The indices for banking, automobiles, capital goods, energy, metals, basic materials, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas and telecommunications also fell between 2 and 4.5 percent.
Mid-cap and small-cap stocks also experienced selling pressure, as the S&P BSE MidCap Index fell 3.79% and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index plunged 4.37%.
Forty-eight of the 50 stocks in the Nifty 50 Index ended lower. Sun Pharma was Nifty’s main loser, shares fell 7% to close at Rs 515. State Bank of India, Cipla, Bajaj Finserv, Zee Entertainment, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Finance, Shree Cements, ICICI Bank , Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hindalco also fell between 4.5 and 6 percent.
On the other hand, ONGC and TCS were among the notable winners.
The overall breadth of the market was extremely low, as 2,329 stocks closed lower while 536 ended higher on the BSE.
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