Sensex Ends 3-Day Winning Streak, Tanks 770 pts, Nifty Settles at 17,560; HDFC, Infosys Top Losers

The key benchmark indices snapped their 3-day winning streak and ended lower on Thursday, the day of weekly F&O expiry, as investors booked profit post a recent rally and tepid global cues. At close, the Sensex was down 770.31 points or 1.29 per cent at 58,788.02, and the Nifty was down 219.80 points or 1.24 per cent at 17,560.20. About 1663 shares have advanced, 1602 shares declined, and 81 shares are unchanged. Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Divis Labs, Maruti Suzuki, and ITC were the top Nifty losers, while gainers included HDFC, NTPC, SBI Life Insurance, Grasim Industries, and Infosys.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index fell 0.8 per cent and the BSE SmallCap index slipped 0.3 per cent. Among sectors, all the key indices ended in the red, led by the Nifty IT index (down 2 per cent) and the Nifty Realty index (down 1.7 per cent). Nifty Auto index was the only gainer, up 0.4 per cent.

Indian markets opened on a negative to flat note on the back of taking a breather a day after hitting two-week closing highs. Throughout the day the markets extended losses amid broad-based selling. “The domestic market extended its losses following broad-based selling as global cues turned in favour of bears. All major sectors succumbed to selling while Auto stocks showed some resistance on the back of sequential growth in auto sales numbers during January. US futures were under pressure following weak earnings numbers reported by Meta (Facebook) while European markets fretted about monetary policy tightening ahead of the central bank policy announcement,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

S Ranganathan, head of research at LKP Securities, said: “Markets opened steady and drifted lower throughout the day only to close at the lowest point of the day on the back of stronger than expected inflation of over 5 per cent in the Euro Zone led by energy prices. Indices lost 1.5 per cent led by IT & Real Estate with most of the sectoral indices barring the Auto Index ending in the red today. The broader markets witnessed investor interest in Sugar stocks with unblended fuel set to attract additional excise duties”

Global Cues

The US stocks extended rally on the back of strong earnings and beaten down share prices. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq gained 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively; while the S&P 500 jumped 0.9 per cent.

Shares in Facebook owner Meta plunged 22.6 per cent in after-hours trading as earnings and the outlook fell short of expectations. Shares in Twitter and Spotify also fell and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 2 per cent. If the drop holds until the US market opens Thursday, the company’s overall value, known as its market capitalization, is on track to drop by a figure greater than the size of the entire Greek economy, based on data from the World Bank.