Sensex Slips 483 Points, Nifty Settles Below 17,700; IT Stocks Drag

The Indian equity benchmarks on Monday traded lower, dragged by information technology (IT) stocks as market participants shifted their focus on quarterly earnings. IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will start the March quarter 2021-22 (FY22) corporate results season later in the day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 483 points or 0.81 per cent to close at 58,965, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 109 points or 0.62 per cent lower to settle at 17,675.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.62 per cent and small-cap edged 0.06 per cent lower.

10 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- ended in the red. Nifty IT and Nifty Financial Services underperformed the index by falling as much as 1.41 per cent and 0.56 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, HCL Tech was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 2.65 per cent to Rs 1,134.50. L&T, Infosys, Wipro and SBI Life were also among the laggards. 

Although, the overall market breadth stood positive as 2,115 shares advanced while 1,441 declined on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, L&T, HCL Tech, Infosys, Wipro, Asian Paints, HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank), and Axis Bank were among the top losers.

HDFC twins fell for five straight sessions and have erased all of their respective gains since announcing the mega-merger last week.

Also, shares of yoga teacher Ramdev's Ruchi Soya Industries fell 0.56 per cent to settle at Rs 918.25 after deciding to change the company's name to Patanjali Foods Ltd. The stock jumped over 8 per cent in intraday deals before settling in the red. Ruchi Soya has recently raised Rs 4,300 crore through its follow-on public offer (FPO).

In contrast, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, UltraTech Cement, Nestle India and Sun Pharma settled in the green.