MARKETS: Sensex slips 250 pts, Nifty tests 18,000; broader indices crack

Markets at 10 AM

LIVE market updates: Erasing morning gains, domestic equities cracked on the bourses dragged by all but the banking stocks. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was quoting 346 points lower at 60,475 levels at 10:00 AM, while the Nifty50 index slipped below the 18,000-mark at 17,981, down over 100 points.

26 of the 30 constituents on the Sensex and 45 of the 50 constituents on the Nifty were trading in the red, led by Tata Motors (down 3.5 per cent), Divis Labs, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Shree Cement, Eicher Motors, Adani Ports, and Maruti Suzuki.

The only gainers on the 50-share index were ICICI Bank (up 8 per cent), Axis Bank, ONGC, M&M, and NTPC.

Shares of ICICI Bank surged 9 per cent to hit a new record high of Rs 827 on the BSE in Monday’s intra-day trade after the private sector lender on Saturday reported a 30 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit in the July-September quarter (Q2FY22), aided by robust net interest income (NII) and other income as well as lower provisions. READ MORE

In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap100 index was down 2.5 per cent while the Nifty SmallCap100 was down over 3 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, on the other hand rose over 6 per cent.

In the currency market, the rupee opened weaker at 74.98 per US dollar compared with Friday’s close of 74.89/$
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: Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank failed to keep benchmark indices in the positive territory even as both the companies posted a strong September quarter earnings’ show.

The Mukesh Ambani-controlled RIL leaped nearly 1 per cent while ICICI Bank jumped over 8 per cent in intra-day deals. However, the BSE barometer of 30 shares was down 15 points at 60,806 levels. The broader Nifty50, on the other hand, slipped below 18,100.

FMCG, IT, Metal, Pharma, and Realty sectors were trading in the negative territory, exerting pressure on the indices. Among individual stocks, Asian Paints (down over 2.5 per cent), Divis Labs, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Auto, HCL Tech, Shree Cement, Maruti Suzuki, and Titan were the top laggards on the Nifty50.

The Nifty Bank index, however, was ruling over a per cent higher at 40,755, after hitting a record high of 41,024 earlier today.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices declined up to 0.65 per cent.

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: Benchmark indices could clock a firm start on the bourses on Monday, if pre-open trades are anything to go by. The frontline S&P BSE Sensex settled over 577 points higher at 61,399 levels in pre-open session while the Nifty50 closed at 18,229, up 115 points.

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(Updated at 8:10 AM)

LIVE market updates: After last week’s bear hammering, market bulls may try to make a comeback on Dalal Street on Monday. At 8:00 AM, SGX Nifty was up 11 points at 18,155 level, indicating a flat to positive start for the markets.

Stocks in focus / Earnings today

Ceat, Colgate Palmolive, Coforge, GMDC, Dwarikesh Sugar, HDFC AMC, ICRA, Ramco Cement, SRF, Suven Life Sciences, Swaraj Engines and Tech Mahindra are some of the prominent companies scheduled to announce September quarter numbers.

Global cues

On Friday, US markets ended on a mixed note, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down 0.1 per cent and 0.8 per cent, while Dow Jones ended 0.2 per cent higher at record levels.

In Asia, Nikkei was down 0.6 per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite had slipped 0.3 per cent and Taiwan Weighted index had declined 0.2 per cent. Whereas, the S&P/ASX 200 had gained 0.6 per cent, while Kospi and Straits Times were flat

Oil market

Oil extended its weekly winning streak, with Brent up for the seventh straight week at $85.53 a barrel, and WTI Crude up for the ninth week in a row at $83.76 a barrel. In Monday’s early trade, Brent crude was up 0.75 per cent at $86.17 per barrel.