Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower in a volatile session on Monday dragged by selling in industrials and oil & gas shares.
Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 217.41 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 74,115.17 with 22 of its constituents ending lower and eight with gains.
The index opened higher and touched a high of 74,741.25 during the day.
However, selling pressure emerged in the pre-close session and the index tanked 310.34 points or 0.41 per cent to hit a low of 74,022.24.
The Nifty of NSE declined by 92.20 points or 0.41 per cent to close at 22,460.30.
From the 30 Sensex companies, IndusInd Bank, Zomato, Larsen & Toubro, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.
On the other hand, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Nestle India, Asian Paints, ITC, Sun Pharmaceuticals and ICICI Bank were the gainers.
“Global headwinds continue to drag the market sentiment, with the rise in US unemployment rates and tariffs leading to uncertainty, indicating that volatility is here to stay for the near term,” Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, said.
Nair said the domestic macros are favouring investors to start accumulating the beaten-down stocks with caution in the short term, while the long term appears attractive.
In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended on a mixed note.
Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,035.10 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) outnumbered the FIIs by acquiring equities worth Rs 2,320.36 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.34 per cent to $70.60 a barrel.
