Closing Bell: After a volatile day, benchmarks close near the day's low

The stocks of Oil & gas, metals as well as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) rose while banks, financials, and auto companies fell.

The stocks of Oil & gas, metals as well as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) rose while banks, financials, and auto companies fell. On Wednesday, most of the European markets fell but Asian stocks mainly rose, as investors awaited market reaction to a somewhat hotter-than-expected US inflation report. NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market volatility, climbed 2.05 per cent to 17.78 levels. European markets mostly edged lower on Wednesday.  

BSE Sensex continued its journey in the red zone on the sixth consecutive day, falling by 237 points to 58,338 points. Sensex Midcap index has declined 52 points to end the day at 24,985 levels. However, BSE Smallcap index jumped 79 points to close at 29,521 levels. ITC, Sun Pharmaceutical, Hindustan Unilever, SBI, NTPC, and Wipro were the Top Gainers on BSE Sensex today. On the other hand, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Titan, and TCS were the Top Losers today.  

Nifty closed under the 17,500 mark at 17,475, sinking by 54 points. Bank Nifty also dropped by 284 points and closed the day at 37,463. The top gaining stocks were ONGC, Apollo Hospitals, UPL, ITC, and Sun Pharmaceutical. The stocks losing the most were Maruti Suzuki, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and Tata Motors.  

The total stocks traded today were 3,529, out of which, 1,850 advanced and 1,543 stocks declined. There were 136 stocks that were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit was 296 while 14 stocks got locked in their lower circuit. Around 194 stocks hit a fresh 52-week high today while 14 stocks made a new 52-week low. 

Meanwhile, the Indian equity markets will remain closed on April 14 and 15 on the account of Mahavir Jayanti/Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti & Good Friday, respectively.