Sensex Falls 525 Pts, Nifty Down 188 points

Heavy profit booking after a sharp rally in the previous week dragged the headline indices lower in the afternoon trade on Monday, September 20. The Sensex fell 524.96 points to 58,490.93, and the Nifty-50 fell 188.25 points to close at 17,396.90, mainly dragged by declines in Metal and Banking stocks. 

Adding to it, negative momentum in the foreign markets ahead of the FOMC meeting or the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. It is a committee within the Federal Reserve System that is responsible under the United States law for overseeing the nation's open market operations. The investor sentiments are dampened in anticipation of possible fluctuations in the interest rates, said experts. "Investors were taking caution approach as across the world will be eyeing the FOMC meet this week for clarity on the outlook for tapering as well as interest rate timelines," said Narendra Solanki, Head, Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers.

In the 30-share pack Sensex, 23 shares declined and only seven ended in the green. Shares of Tata Steel stood as the top index loser as the stock fell about 10 per cent, while SBI, IndusInd Bank, and HDFC declined between 2-4 per cent each. On the flipside, ITC surged higher and marked a fresh 52-week high of Rs 239.35 in the morning trade.

The sector-wise comparison shows that only the FMCG stocks ended in the green, while all other sectors saw selling pressure and ended in the red. The Nifty Metal and PSU Bank were the worst hit sectors as the indices closed lower by six and four per cent, respectively. Shares of Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, and Nalco were the top laggards in the metal sector, falling nine per cent each. However, the FMCG sector surged one per cent amid volatility led by shares of HUL, Marico, and ITC.

The broader markets also fell over one per cent each on Monday. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices closed lower by 1.79 and 1.84 per cent, respectively. Shares of Jindal Steel(-9.13 per cent), SAIL(-8.20 per cent), and PI Industries (-6.19 per cent) were the top drags in the Midcap space, while BLS International and NALCO dipped over nine per cent in the Smallcap space.

However, the volatility is only expected for frw upcoming sessions and is not here to stay and downside in the market remains capped as the overall market sentiment seems intact for the long term, said experts. The FIIs have also been net buyers of shares so far in the month of September and a sum of Rs 17,822 crore is pumped in the Indian equity and debt market between September 1 to September 17.

Overall in the markets today, nearly 995 shares advanced, 2308 shares declined, and 132 shares were unchanged.

Ruchit Purohit

BW Reporters The author is a Trainee Journalist at BW Businessworld based in Mumbai. He tracks the Markets and related news.