Sensex, Nifty Erase Gains; IT, Pharma Shares Worst Hit

Edited by Peter Noronha

26 May 2020, 02:41 PM IST

All the Nifty sectoral indices were trading in the green, with the exception of IT and media.

Domestic stock markets erased intraday gains dragged down by weakness in information technology shares. Earlier in the day, the S&P BSE Sensex index climbed as much as 1.35 per cent - or 414.11 points - to touch 31,086.70, after starting the session up 191.68 points at 30,864.27. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark rose to as high as 9,161.65, having opened higher at 9,099.75 compared to its previous close of 9,039.25. Financials and metal stocks are leading the gains in the markets, while selling pressure in IT counters is capping the upside.

At 2:39 pm, the Sensex traded 89 points - or 0.23 per cent - lower at 30,603 while the Nifty was down 18 points - or 0.19 per cent - at 9,022. Seven of 11 Nifty sectoral indices were trading in the green, with IT, pharma and media indexes being top losers. A total of 37 out of Nifty-50 stocks were trading in the green at the time.

In the Nifty basket of 50 shares, JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, Ultratech Cement ITC, IndusInd Bank and Hindalco - trading between 3.77 per cent and 6.48 per cent higher - were the top percentage gainers.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC and Zee Entertainment - down between 1.6 per cent and 4.41 per cent - were the top Nifty losers.

Sectorally speaking, the metal sector was going strong, with JSW Steel, Hindalco and Tata Steel gaining between 2.9 per cent to 6 per cent on the NSE.

On the other hand, the IT sector was weak as TCS and HCL Tech had lost up to 2 per cent each, on the NSE.

Among stocks in the limelight, Bharti Airtel was trading at Rs 571, weaker by Rs 22 or 3.7 per cent, on the news that parent Bharti Telecom was looking at raising $1 billion by selling shares in the mobile phone operator through a block deal.

HDFC shares gave up early gains and slipped into the red, at Rs 1,491, a day after the mortgage lender reported its financial results for the January-March period and declared a dividend of Rs 21 per equity share on face value of Rs 2 each.

The NSE market breadth favored the bulls. Out of 2,136 stocks traded on the NSE, there were 971 advancing stocks as against 726 declines.