Sensex, Nifty End With Negative Bias, IT and Banking Stocks Top Drags

Sensex on Tuesday, 20 April 2021, saw a mixed movement as both the benchmarks gave up all their early gains and closed with negative bias following the declines in IT and Banking stocks. However, the broader markets and Pharma sector stood as strong defensives against a major fall in the market.

Covid cases and vaccination drive are playing as key factors in the market movement currently, said experts. The execution of the Phase-three vaccination process, global cues, and strong earnings will lift the investor sentiment further, they added.

The frontline S&P BSE Sensex closed at 47,705.80, lower by 243.62 points. The NSE index settled lower by 63.05 points at 14,296.40. Shares of HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were among the top laggards for the Sensex on Tuesday.

Among the various industries, the IT sector saw a major profit booking which turned the sentiment negative and dragged the indices at day's lows. However, the Auto and Pharma sector remained positive throughout the session and held the indices together.

"This profit booking was led by IT majors, which tracked weakness in the technology sector that pulled US indices lower from all-time peaks overnight", said Anand James - Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Tracking the global markets, U.S markets witnessed some correction from record highs as the technology stocks made a bearish move in the market, while the Asian markets were trading with mixed sentiments following the global cues.

However, in the domestic trading, Dr. Reddy's Labs, Bajaj Twins, and HDFC Life ended as the top gainers of the index. Shares of Dr. Reddy's Labs surged over four per cent after the company's MD - GV Prasad, said the company is going to roll out the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine by May-end or early June.

The broader markets also outperformed on Tuesday, led by shares of Aditya Birla Fashion(+6.65 per cent), Jindal Steel(+4.18 per cent), RPG Life(+20 per cent), and Morepen Lab(+16.67 per cent). The BSE Midcap and Smallcap closed up by nearly 100 points each.