ADVERTISEMENT

Sensex, Nifty Struggle Amid Broad-Based Selling Pressure

Sensex, Nifty Struggle Amid Broad-Based Selling Pressure

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes extended losses in noon deals amid broad-based selling pressure as rising coronavirus cases in the country continue to weigh on investor sentiment. The Sensex fell as much as 270 points Nifty dropped below 10,750. HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro and IndusInd Bank were among the top drags on the Sensex.

As of 12:11 pm, the Sensex fell 249 points at 36,489 and Nifty was at 10,737, down 76 points.

India recorded the biggest single-day spike of 26,506 coronavirus cases on Thursday, pushing the total count to 7,93,802, according to data from the Union Health Ministry this morning. With 475 new deaths, the fatality count has gone up to 21,604.

Meanwhile, nine of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's 3 per cent fall. Banking, information technology, metal, energy and infrastructure shares were also facing selling pressure.

On the other hand, Nifty Pharma index was top gainer, up 1.13 per cent.

Mid- and small-cap shares were also facing selling pressure as the Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 1 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 0.53 per cent.

Bharti Infratel was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 3.45 per cent to Rs 207. IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, ONGC, JSW Steel, HDFC, Titan, Tata Steel, Grasim Industries, GAIL India and Shree Cements were also among the losers.

On the flipside, Sun Pharma, Britannia Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was extremely bearish as 1,638 shares were trading lower while 796 were trading higher on the BSE.