Sensex Loses Over 500 Points, Dragged By Auto, Financial Stocks

The benchmark indices have shed 1 per cent in mid-morning session, on top of the nearly 2 per cent correction witnessed in the previous session, as concerns about extended economic lockdowns in Europe continued to make investors jittery across global markets. The sudden spike in Covid-19 cases India in the past one week is also spooking the bulls on Dalal Street. At 10:40 am, the BSE Sensex was at 48,673.65, lower by 507.65 points or 1 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 14,400.16, down 148.45 points or 1 per cent.

The broader markets are also trading weak, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices shedding more than a per cent respectively.

The March derivative series expiry is likely to add volatility to the stock market proceedings during the day, analysts suggest.

Overnight, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.01 per cent and S&P 500 lost 0.55 per cent, unable to halt the prior day's sell-off, as investors set aside economic optimism by Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Meanwhile, oil prices skidded around 2 per cent as fuel demand concerns re-emerged alongside fresh coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, trimming overnight gains spurred by the grounding of a giant container ship blocking crude shipments through the Suez Canal.

Brent crude futures slid $1.14, or 1.8 per cent, to $63.27 a barrel at 0139 GMT, after jumping 6 per cent overnight. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped by $1.27, or 2.1 per cent, to $59.91 a barrel, after climbing 5.9 per cent overnight.

On the IPO front, Laxmi Organic Industries listed at a premium of 20 per cent to the issue price, whereas Craftsman Automation listed at a discount of nearly 9 per cent at Rs 1,359.

On the stock-specific front, BPCL, Adani Ports and Tata Motors have lost more than 2 per cent each on the BSE. Banking stocks are also looking weak, with IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and SBI weakening up to 2 per cent each.

On the other hand, ONGC, Tata Steel, Grasim and L&T have bucked the weak trend with gains of around a per cent each on the BSE.

The BSE market breadth is weak. Out of 2,158 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 547 advancing stocks as against 1,540 declines.