Sensex dips by over 500 points; Asian Paints surges by nearly 4 per cent

Markets remained volatile during today's trading session, ahead of the expiry of June series derivative contracts tomorrow. Erasing the day gains, Sensex slipped by over 800 points from its day high on Wednesday, to close at 34,868.98 which is 561.45 points or 1.58 per cent lower than its previous close, while Nifty fell by 165.70 points or 1.58 per cent to settle at 10,305.30.

Asian Paints' stock witnessed a nearly 4 per cent gain per share on BSE after the company's Q4FY20 results showed some gross margin expansion despite deterioration in product mix, thus providing major relief to investors.

A fall in crude oil prices was seen as US crude stockpiles grew more than expected, further building concerns about oversupply. Nonetheless, a fall in gasoline stocks was able to keep the decline in crude oil prices in check. WTI crude fell by 1.58 per cent to USD 39.73 per barrel for July contract while Brent crude price decreased by 1.35 to USD 42.15 per barrel for August contract.

Gold prices continue to rise as the demand for the safe-haven asset has increased with rising worries over a surge in coronavirus infections and also, on hopes of increased stimulus measures to combat the economic blow.

Sensex winners comprised Asian Paints soaring by 3.82 per cent, ITC rallying by 3.17 per cent, Nestle India increasing by 0.98 per cent, Tech Mahindra gaining by 0.53 per cent, RIL rising by 0.42 per cent and TCS which went up by 0.34 per cent.

Sensex draggers were made up of mainly banking and financial stocks such as IndusInd Bank which went down by 7.43 per cent, ICICI Bank dropping by 7.35 per cent, Power Grid dipping by 4.79 per cent, Bajaj Finserv declining by 4.39 per cent, Axis Bank down by 4.30 per cent, SBI which fell by 4.08 per cent, etc.

Amongst BSE sectoral indices, the biggest loser was Bankex, down by 4.08 per cent followed by Telecom index dropping by 3.12 per cent while FMCG index was the only index to close in green, up by 0.28 per cent. BSE small-cap index fell by 1.24 per cent and BSE mid-cap index decreased by 1.08 per cent.