Sensex tanks 610 points, Nifty settles below 19,550; TechM falls 4%; Quick Heal jumps 18%

Domestic equity markets settled sharply lower on Thursday amid the monthly expiry of the October series F&O contracts. Feeble global sentiment dragged the markets lower after an initial uptick. Rise in the US treasury yields and boil in the crude oil prices dented the sentiments at Dalal Street.

For the day, BSE's barometer Sensex plunged 610.37 points, or 0.92 per cent, to settle at 65,508.32. NSE's Nifty50 tumbled 192.90 points, or 0.98 per cent, to end at 19,523.55. Broader markets also settled in red as BSE midcap index dropped over a per cent, while the BSE smallcap index shed about one-third per cent. Fear gauge India VIX surged 11 per cent to 12.82-level.

Markets resumed a negative tone after the recent breather and lost nearly a percent on the monthly expiry day. After the flat start, Nifty gradually inched lower as the session progressed and finally settled at 19,523.55 levels. The decline was widespread on the sectoral front wherein IT and FMCG were among the top losers, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking.

"The prevailing weakness in heavyweights across sectors combined with feeble global cues is weighing on the sentiment. After the failed attempt to reclaim 19,750, we expect Nifty to inch further lower and test 19,400 however the major support is at 19,200," he added. "Participants should align their trades accordingly and focus more on risk management."

All the sectoral indices dropped on Thursday. The Nifty IT and FMCG indices dropped more than 2 per cent each, while the Nifty auto, media, PSU bank and consumer durable indices plunged over a per cent each. The Nifty metal, pharma, healthcare and oil & gas indices also posted significant cuts.

In the Nifty50 index, Tech Mahindra crashed over 4 per cent, while Asian Paints also posted similar cuts. LTIMindTree cracked over 3 per cent, while Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro and Divis Laboratories shed 2 per cent each. HDFC Life Insurance, Britannia Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC and Bajaj Finserv were among the other losers for the day.

Among the gainers, Larsen & Toubro gained more than 2 per cent, while Bharti Airtel added more than a per cent. ONGC and Coal India also posted decent gains. Power Grid, Axis Bank, NTPC and State Bank of India also managed to end the session in green.

The selling was broad-based, as investors are on alert given the rise of oil prices. If crude continues to stay above the 90 USD level, it will be a threat to inflation and boil the operational margins, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"Globally, US GDP data and the FED chief speech will be watched carefully, which will set the future trend. Currently, the combination of higher interest rates and US bond yields are influencing FIIs to stay in the selling mode," he added.

In the broader markets, Authum Investment and Infrastructure dropped more than 12 per cent, while Berger Paints declined about 6 per cent. Ugro Capital, Voltamp Transformers, EKI Energy and 63Moons Technologies crashed 5 per cent each. Apar Industries, Happiest Minds Technologies and Indian Bank were down 4 per cent each.

Among the gainers, Quick Heal Technologies gained more than 18 per cent, while Hindustan Oil Exploration hit an upper circuit of 10 per cent. MCX gained about 9 per cent, while Pilani Investment and Industries Corporation, DCM Shriram Industries and Omaxe rallied 8 per cent each for the day.

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