Produced by: Prashun Talukdar
Benchmark indices (BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty) on Friday resumed fall after a single-day halt, dragged by automobile, pharma and energy stocks. Headline index Nifty tanked 123 points or 0.56% to close at 22,023-level. Top losers on the Nifty50 platform were M&M, BPCL, Coal India, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp while gainers included UPL, Airtel, HDFC Life, Bajaj Finance and Adani Ports. Sensex today settled 454 points or 0.62% lower at 72,643.
Stocks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC, Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank were most active on NSE today, in terms of value. Tata Steel and PowerGrid were the other buzzing stocks on the platform, in terms of volume.
Shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) emerged as the top loser in the NSE 500 index. The stock cracked 6.25% on NSE today to settle at Rs 468.85. At this price, the company commanded a market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 66,508.6 crore. Oil marketing companies' (OMCs') stocks fell today after the Centre reduced retail prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 2 litre, respectively, ahead of 2024 general election. This is the first fuel rate cut since April 2022.
ITI Ltd shares slumped 6% to close at Rs 259.95. The company's m-cap came at Rs 24,978.3 crore.
Biocon Ltd shares tanked 5.89% to close at Rs 251.65. The company's m-cap stood at Rs 30,213.1 crore. Apollo Tyres, Indian Oil Corporation, Tata Investment Corporation and Hindustan Zinc were some of the other losers on NSE 500.
Shares of Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd rose sharply today. The stock surged 11.63% to close at Rs 205.85 on Friday. At this price, the company's market cap stood at Rs 9,951.6 crore.
Cochin Shipyard Ltd shares jumped 10.71% to end the session at Rs 890.45. The company's m-cap came at Rs 23,426 crore today. Relaxo Footwears, ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India, Swan Energy and Solar Industries India were among some other gainers on NSE 500.