Sensex Declines Over 300 Points, Nifty Ends Below 12,200 On Last Trading Day Of 2019
Domestic stock markets ended the last day of 2019 on a negative note amid weakness in Asian peers. The S&P BSE Sensex index fell as much as 304.26 points or 0.7 per cent to end the session at 41,253.74 points and the broader NSE Nifty benchmark ended at 12,168.45, down 87.40 points or 0.7 per cent.
The broader markets ended relatively unscathed; the BSE Midcap index ended marginally lower by four points at 14,967.83 and the BSE actually ended up by 50 points at 13,699.
The market breadth was positive, with 1,355 advancing stocks as against 1,205 declines.
Weakness in banking, auto and IT shares dragged the markets lower. All the NSE sectoral indices ended in the red, with the exception of metal and realty.
Top losers on the Sensex index were Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Industries, Hero Motocorp and HDFC, which ended weak between 1.4 per cent and 2.5 per cent lower. HDFC, TCS, ICICI Bank and M&M were the other significant losers, shedding up to 1 per cent each.
On the other hand, NTPC, Sun Pharma and ONGC gained between 0.74 per cent and 2 per cent to buck the weak trend on the BSE.
The Nifty Auto Index – consisting of 15 auto and auto-ancilliaries – fell as much as 0.9 per cent. Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and M&M lost around 1 per cent each.
The Nifty Bank index - comprising stocks of 12 major lenders - fell as much as 0.6 per cent. The prominent losers included IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda, declining between 0.9 per cent and 1.2 per cent.
The Nifty IT index – constituting 10 stocks of information tech companies – shed 0.7 per cent. The underperformers in this space were Tech Mahindra, Wipro and TCS, ending lower between 1 per cent and 3 per cent each.
Equities in other Asian markets slipped, echoing falls on Wall Street, as investors locked in gains made since the US and China reached a preliminary trade deal earlier this month. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.39 per cent in early deals - its weakest performance since December 4. Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for a holiday.
In other developments, the government released the report on Rs 102-lakh crore infrastructure project pipeline. The report was prepared by the task force on infrastructure after 70 consultations with stakeholders, Nirmala Sitharaman said in a press conference.
On Monday, the domestic stock markets had ended on a mixed note. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 17.14 points - or 0.04 per cent - lower at 41,558.00 and broader NSE Nifty benchmark settled at 12,255.85, up 10.05 points - or 0.08 per cent - from the previous close.
The broader markets ended relatively unscathed; the BSE Midcap index ended marginally lower by four points at 14,967.83 and the BSE actually ended up by 50 points at 13,699.
The market breadth was positive, with 1,355 advancing stocks as against 1,205 declines.
