Closing bell: Sensex drops 568 points, Nifty closes below 16,450; LIC reaches all-time low
Investors were particularly wary ahead of RBI's policy announcement on Wednesday and the release of US inflation data on Friday.
On Tuesday, the Indian equity indices fell strongly for the third straight day, led down by losses in consumer and technology firms. Energy, oil & gas, and power stocks, on the other hand, defied the trend due to rising crude oil prices. Negative global cues and FII selling continued to dampen the mood of the investors. Investors were particularly wary ahead of RBI's policy announcement on Wednesday and the release of US inflation data on Friday.
BSE Sensex plummeted 567 points to close at 55,107 levels. BSE Midcap index fell by 175 points to end the day at 22,564 levels. BSE Smallcap index too saw a drop of 175 points to close at 26,065 levels. The top stocks on BSE Sensex today were NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, and State Bank of India. However, the top losing stocks were Titan, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, and Asian Paints.
Nifty 50 also ended with a red mark at 16,416 levels, slipping by 153 points. On the other hand, Bank Nifty plunged 314 points and closed the day at 34,996 levels. The top gaining stocks were ONGC, NTPC, Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, and Hero MotoCorp. The Top Losers were Titan, UPL, Britannia, Larsen & Toubro, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
The total stocks traded today were 3,418, out of which, 1,292 advanced and 2,000 stocks declined. There were 126 stocks that were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit was 186 while 172 stocks hit their lower circuits today. The number of stocks that hit a new 52-week high is 62 while 70 stocks made a fresh 52-week low today.
Dow Jones futures were down by 145 points, signalling that the US stock market would open lower today. On Tuesday, the European equities dipped across the board while Asian stocks ended neutral as investors awaited US inflation data.