Indian stocks shrugged off a weak start Monday morning and climbed higher in afternoon trade as traders indulged in some hectic bargain hunting following the previous session’s sharp plunge.
However, with caution setting in as the day progressed, the market pared most of its gains and eventually ended just marginally up.
Information technology stocks posted notable gains, while shares from healthcare, realty, power, energy and PSU banking space drifted lower.
Worries about the detection of a new variant of the coronavirus continued to weigh on sentiment. The World Health Organization, which held an emergency meeting on Friday, declared the new virus variant a matter of concern, noting its transmissibility and named it the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The new variant has been red-flagged by scientists over an alarmingly high number of spike mutations that might make the virus more resistant to vaccines.
The potential of more countries reinstating full lockdowns sparked worries the pandemic could once again weigh down the global economy.
The BSE benchmark Sensex, which climbed 57.626.51, rising more than 500 points from Friday’s closing mark, ended the session with a gain of 153.43 points or 0.27% at 57,260.58.
The broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange settled at 17,053.95, gaining 27.50 points or 0.16%. The Nifty rose to 17,160.70 before paring gains.
On Friday, the Sensex and the Nifty had plunged 2.87% and 2.91%, respectively.
Kotak Bank, HCL Technologies, HDFC Life, Titan Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Bajaj Finance gained 1.5 to 2.3%.
BPCL shed more than 2.5%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Adani Ports and NTPC also declined more than 2%.
UPL, NTPC, ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation, Axis Bank, HeroMotocorp, Shree Cement, Nestle India, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Britannia Industries, Bajaj Auto and Power Grid Corporation also declined sharply.
The market breadth was very weak. On BSE, as many as 2435 stocks closed weak. 966 stocks moved up and 174 stocks ended flat.
Sensex, Nifty Give Up Gains After Strong Upmove, Settle Just Marginally Higher
2021-11-29 10:57:09
