Sensex 627 points, below 50,000 points

The equity fundmark Sensex lost 627 points to close below the 50,000 level on 31 March.

The 30-share BSE index closed down 627.43 points or 1.25% at 49,509.15.

The broader NSE Nifty fell 154.40 points or 1.04% to close at 14,690.70.

HDFC Bank and HDFC Sensex were among the top stocks a day after the private banking major admitted some flaws in their banking services. The bank, which has already faced RBI penalties for online services disruption, promised to resolve the problem and restore the services.

HDFC Bank declined 4%, while HDFC Bank declined 3.86% on BSFC.

Among other major losers, Powergrid fell 2.71%, Tech Mahindra 2.5%, ICICI Bank 1.71%, ONGC 1.59%, Kotak Bank 1.5%, Infosys 1.28% and Reliance Industries 1.25%.

On the other hand, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, SBI and TCS were among the beneficiaries.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE Finance, Banks, Power, Telecom, Energy and Tech fell by 1.73%, while Realty, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Basic Materials and Metals index rose by 1.89%.

Broadly the midcap and smallcap indices outperformed, increasing by 0.52%.

Binod Modi, Head – Strategy, Reliance Securities, said, “Domestic equities traded less to keep up with spike-related concerns and investor sentiments in COVID-19 cases.”

According to data from the Union Ministry of Health, 53,480 fresh infections pushed India’s COVID-19 to 1,21,49,335, while 354 new fatalities, the highest so far this year, killed 1,62,468 people.

In addition, concerns about the rise in US Treasury yields and the strengthening of the dollar index increased, Mr. Binod Modi said.

Financials, especially private banks, saw huge profit-booking, pulling the benchmark along with selling pressure in IT stocks. However, investors have continued to name FMCG, metals and pharma.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading down 0.58% at $ 63.80 a barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, the bourgeoisie in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo has ended up in the red after a weak closing in Wall Street, stating that US President Joe Biden would pursue growth and create jobs. Wants to spend more than $ 2 trillion on infrastructure projects and raise corporate taxes to increase spending.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a negative note in mid-season deals.

“Weak signs around the world forced the domestic market to shed the optimism of tomorrow. The US markets weakened after the US bond yield approached a 14-month high, while the European and Asian markets continued to trend higher. Private banks were lagging behind due to selling in heavyweight. However, midcap and small cap stocks remain in the positive region today. ‘

Sahaj Aggarwal, head of research-derivatives at Kotak Securities, also said the markets were weak from opening up as they would unveil their infrastructure package on March 31 with an increase in corporate taxes.