Sensex falls 325 points; Nifty settles below 19,450; Glenmark slips 5%; Coal India up 5%

Domestic equity markets kicked off the new week on a muted note as two days of rise weighed on traders' sentiments. Weak domestic economic cues weighed on the market sentiments, and expectations of higher rates kept investors on tenterhooks. Cautious tone of global investors dragged the markets lower.

Domestic equity markets settled flat for another session after a choppy trading session on Friday. However, benchmark indices reversed their entire cuts and settled slightly higher on the last day of Samvat 2024. Headline indices delivered about 9 per cent return in the accounting year ended today.

For the day, BSE's Sensex dropped 325.59 points, or 0.50 per cent, to end at 64,933.87. NSE's Nifty50 shed 82 points, or 0.42 per cent, to end the day at 19,443.55. Broader markets performed mixed as BSE midcap index was slightly up for the day, while BSE smallcap index settled marginally lower. Fear gauge India VIX eased over a per cent to 11.19-mark.

Markets started the week on a feeble note and lost nearly half a percent, tracking weak global cues. After the gap-down start, Nifty traded under pressure in the first hour, however resilience in select heavyweights capped the decline as the session progressed, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking.

"We are largely mirroring the US markets on the benchmark front however there is no shortage of stock-specific trading opportunities, thanks to prevailing outperformance of the broader indices and rotational buying across the sectors. We thus reiterate our view to focus more on stock selection and prefer long trades until the Nifty breaks 19,200," he said.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty PSU Bank index gained about 3 per cent, whereas the metal index also posted gains. All other sectoral indices ended in red. The Nifty consumer durables, IT, Auto and healthcare indices were top laggards during the trading session.

In the Nifty50 pack, SBI Life Insurance dropped more than 2 per cent, while Bajaj Finance, Grasim, Infosys, Nestle India and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise were down a per cent each. Among the gainers, Coal India surged more than 5 per cent, while Eicher Motors was up 2 per cent. Hindalco also added more than a per cent for the day.

Post-Diwali, Indian equities continued consolidation amid global uncertainty. The sharp deceleration in IIP growth, from 10.3% in August to 5.8% in September, and weakening Manufacturing PMI reflect global trends driven by rising interest rates and inflation. The Indian Rupee's weakness keeps FIIs cautious, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"However, the market's downside is limited by strong earnings, economic stability, and domestic institutional flows. A potential reversal is likely, as domestic October CPI inflation is expected to moderate. Notably, public sector banks are outperforming due to strong credit growth, improved asset quality, and robust balance sheets, and this trend is expected to persist," he said.

A total of 3,975 shares were traded on BSE on Monday, of which 2,082 settled with cuts. 1,742 stocks ended the session with gains while 151 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 423 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 197 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Kennametal India dropped more than 7 per cent, while Igarashi Motors India tumbled 6 per cent. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Texmaco Infrastructure & Holdings were down 5 per cent each. Medanta, Swan Energy and HG Infra Engineering shed 4 per cent each for the day.

On the contrary, Everest Kanto Cylinders surged more than 15 per cent, while SMC Global Securities rose about 12 per cent. Wockhardt ended 11 per cent up, while Quick Heal Technologies and Share India Securities advanced 10 per cent each. Reliance Power was up 9 per cent for the day.

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