Closing bell: Benchmark indices winning streak breaks on monthly expiry

The Indian equity benchmark indices broke a three-day winning band as the March Futures & Options (F&O) contracts expired.

The Indian equity benchmark indices broke a three-day winning band as the March Futures & Options (F&O) contracts expired. Today, the major gaining sectors on BSE Sensex were FMCG, telecom, and power sectors. On the other hand, the sectors that dragged down the index were healthcare, metal, and information technology. NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market volatility, went up by 5.40 per cent to 19.92 levels.   

BSE Sensex closed in red after three consecutive gaining sessions, closing down by 115 points at 58,568 levels. On the contrary, BSE MidCap index has increased by 70 points and ended the day at 24,107 levels. Also, BSE SmallCap went up to the level of 28,215, up by 86 points. On BSE Sensex today, the top stocks were Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, Induslnd Bank, and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, the top losers included Reliance Industries, Wipro, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, and Maruti Suzuki.   

Nifty 50 index also halted its winning streak and closed lower at 17,464 levels, losing by 33 points only. However, Bank Nifty advanced 39 points and ended the day at 36,373. The top winning stocks were JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Britannia, Axis Bank, and Tata Consumer Products. The major losing stocks were Hindalco Industries, Divi’s Laboratories, Apollo Hospitals, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and Reliance Industries.  

The total stocks traded today were 3,507, out of which, 1,501 advanced and 1,895 stocks declined. There were 111 stocks that were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit was 298 while 243 stocks got locked in the lower circuit. The number of stocks that hit a new 52-week high is 130 while 51 stocks made a fresh 52-week low today.