Sensex, Nifty End 4% Lower Led By Banks, Reliance

• Nifty ends 4.4 percent lower at 8,281; down 379 points
• Nifty futures end at 8,301; a premium of 20 points
• Sensex ends 4.6 percent lower at 28,440; down 1,375 points
• Nifty Bank ends 5.9 percent lower at 18,782; down 1,186 points
• Nifty Midcap Index ends 2.8 percent lower
• Nifty Smallcap Index ends 2.3 percent lower
• India Volatility Index ends 1.53 percent higher at 71.46
• Nifty Realty Index ends 7.7 percent lower; top sectoral laggard
• Nifty Auto ends 5 percent lower
• Nifty Pharma (Up 1.4 percent) and Nifty FMCG (Up 0.7 percent) the only sectoral gainers
• Cipla ends as the top Nifty gainer; up 6.7 percent
• Bajaj Finance ends as the top Nifty loser; down 11.9 percent

Indian equity markets began the truncated weak on a negative note owing to lack of positive cues from anywhere across the globe.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 4.6 percent lower at 28,440. The 30-stock index shed 1,375 points in today's session. 22 out of the 30 constituents ended the day with losses.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended the day with cuts of 4.4 percent at 8,281. 380 points were given up by the index which opened 3 percent lower. 39 out of the 50 constituents reported losses.

Cipla ended up being the top gainer on the index, ending the day with gains of 6 percent.

All sectoral indices barring FMCG and Pharma ended the day with losses, with Nifty Bank falling 6 percent and Nifty Realty seeing a 7 percent drop.

702 stocks ended the trading day with gains while 1,095 stocks reported declines.

Sajjan Jindal has released 1.09 crore pledged shares of JSW Steel Ltd. worth Rs 165 crore and 5.48 crore pledged shares of JSW Energy worth Rs 243 crore.

The total amount repaid as per the company statement is Rs 640 crore.

Shares of JSW Steel recovered from the day's low but trade 6 percent lower at Rs 142.75, while JSW Energy too recovered from the day's low to trade 1.6 percent lower at Rs 43.75.

• Sell Nifty futures at 8,290 - 8,300 for target of 7,930 and stop loss of 8,456 for 3-4 days.
• Sell IndusInd Bank futures at Rs 405 for target of Rs 362 and stop loss of Rs 424 for 2-3 trading days.
• Buy Sun Pharma at Rs 332 for target of Rs 378 and stop loss of Rs 312 for one week.

• Down for eighth straight day
• Down 58 percent in the last eight sessions
• Six out of the last eight sessions has seen the stock fall more than 10 percent
• Longest losing streak since December 2016
• The last eight sessions has seen a market cap erosion of Rs 44,805 crore
• However, the stock is declining on low volumes (Volumes at 0.2x its 30-day average)
• 16 out of the 25 analysts tracked by Bloomberg have a 'sell' recommendation on the stock. 4 of them have a 'buy' recommendation.

• Nifty April Futures add 10.3 percent in Open Interest and 9.93 lakh shares
• Nifty Bank April Futures add 16.7 percent in Open Interest and 1.44 lakh shares

Nifty: April 1 Expiry

• 9,000 Call: Premium falls 75.4 percent to Rs 43.45. The contract has added 8.2 lakh shares in open interest.
• 8,000 Put: Premium falls 23 percent to Rs 145. The contract has added 3.2 lakh shares in open interest.
• 7,500 Put: Premium falls 47.5 percent to Rs 52.75. The contract has added 2.82 lakh shares in open interest.

Nifty Bank: April 1 Expiry

• 22,000 Call: Premium falls 77 percent to Rs 70.80. The contract has added 1.16 lakh shares in open interest.
• 21,000 Call: Premium falls 72.1 percent to Rs 164.7. The contract has added 1.7 lakh shares in open interest.
• 17,000 Put: Premium falls 51 percent to Rs 191.9. The contract has added 76,800 shares in open interest.

• Buy ONGC at Rs 63 for target of Rs 67 and stop loss of Rs 61
• Buy ICICI Bank at Rs 315 for target of Rs 331 and stop loss of Rs 307

HDFC Ltd. is currently trading with losses of close to 10 percent. This is not the first such instance of such declines in the stock.

Out of the last 13 trading sessions, the stock has seen moves of 5 percent or more on either side in 9 of them. It is currently contributing 71 points to the Nifty downside.

• Nifty down 3.4 percent at 8,362
• Sensex down 3.7 percent at 28,717
• Nifty Bank Down 5 percent at 18,964
• Nifty Midcap Index down 3 percent
• Nifty Smallcap Index down 2.2 percent
• India Volatility Index up 2.8 percent at 72.35
• Nifty Auto and Nifty Realty Index down 5 percent
• Nifty FMCG and Nifty Pharma Index up 1 percent
• Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal Index down over 3 percent
• Tech Mahindra remains top Nifty gainer; up 4 percent
• Bajaj Finance remains top Nifty loser; down 11 percent
• 609 stocks are trading with gains while 1,160 are declining

Benchmark indices across Europe open lower dragged by weakness in U.S. futures and weak sentiment across Asia.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was dragged lower by energy shares due to a fall in crude prices. Here are how the indices are faring in opening trade:

• Euro Stoxx 50 down 1.9 percent at 2,671
• DAX down 1.2 percent at 9,519
• CAC down 2.4 percent at 4,246
• FTSE 100 down 2.2 percent at 5,388
• IBEX 35 down 3.2 percent at 6,559

• Best performer on the Nifty 500 index
• Up for the fifth day in a row
• Gains 25 percent in the last two sessions
• Gained as much as 14.57 percent, the Most since March 8, 2019 to Rs 133.25
• Gains on high volumes (Volumes up 5.4x its 30-day average)
• Up 33 percent from 52-week low of Rs 98.1 made on March 23.

• Down for 15th straight session
• Lower circuit in 13 out of the last 15 sessions
• Longest ever losing streak
• Trades at a four-month low
• Still 25 percent away from 52-week low of Rs 78
• Down 71 percent from 52-week high of Rs 362.7 on April 8, 2019
• Relative Strength Index at 23. A reading below 30 indicates oversold territory.

The gold financier, in a statement to the exchanges said that all their branches, corporate offices and head office will remain closed for 21 days or until further orders from the government.

While employees will continue to work from home, we will continue to provide uninterrupted service throuogh Online Gold Loan and customers can repledge, make payments without having to walk into the branches, the statement added.

Shares snapped a four-day gaining streak, falling as much as 8.1 percent to Rs 98.15 on the National Stock Exchange.

• Nifty down 2.3 percent at 8,455
• Sensex down 2.5 percent at 29,075
• Nifty Bank down 3 percent at 19,376
• Nifty Midcap and Smallcap index down over 1.5 percent each
• India Volatility Index up 2.8 percent at 72.34
• Nifty Auto Index remains 4 percent lower
• Nifty Realty Index down 4.5 percent
• Nifty I.T., Pharma and FMCG gain between 0.5 to 1 percent
• Tech Mahindra - top Nifty gainer; up 4.4 percent
• Bajaj Finance remains top Nifty loser; down 9.2 percent
• 675 stocks trade with gains while 1,030 are declining

We are prioritising payments process to make full and on-time payments to a large number of MSME and small vendors, despite challenges arising out of the complete lockdown in the country which has made processing transactions at a normal pace difficult, the two-wheeler manufacturer said in a statement.

Shares trade 4.49 percent lower at Rs 1,586.65 on the National Stock Exchange, their lowest since June 2013.

• Top gainer on the Nifty Midcap Index
• Up for the fifth straight day
• Up 25 percent in the last five sessions
• Gains on strong volumes (Up 1.8x its 30-day average)
• Fourth successive day of gains more than 5 percent
• Fell 13.7 percent on March 23, the most since May 2012.
• 10 out of the 13 analysts tracked by Bloomberg have a 'buy' recommendation
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg now at 14 percent
• Has outperformed both Nifty Pharma index as well as the Nifty this year.

Shares of the animal feed and agribusiness company gained as much as 4.86 percent to Rs 327.95 on the National Stock Exchange.

The company entered into a sale deed with Godrej Properties to sell a land parcel in Bengaluru for Rs 134.68 crore. Both companies had signed an agreement in June 2016, to jointly develop land parcels measuring 100 acres in Karnataka.

The stock has risen over 22 percent from its 52-week low of Rs 265 on March 24, 2020.

On the other hand, shares of Godrej Properties trade 9 percent lower at Rs 627.

• Snaps five-day losing streak
• Down 55 percent in the last one month
• Up only in seven out of the last 34 trading sessions
• Down 80 percent from its 52-week high of Rs 588 made in July 2019
• 20 out of the 22 analysts tracking the stock have a 'buy' recommendation, as per Bloomberg data.
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg now at 310 percent

• Up for the fourth straight session
• Up 36 percent in the last four sessions
• Third successive upper circuit of 10 percent
• Up 45 percent from 52-week low of Rs 68.95 made on March 24, 2020
• Volumes up 3.4x its 30-day average
• 7 out of the 8 analysts tracked by Bloomberg have a 'buy' recommendation on the stock
• Return potential for the stock as per Bloomberg data is 123 percent

Shares of the global I.T. and BPO service provider fell as much as 7.1 percent to Rs 637.55 on the National Stock Exchange.

Brokerage house Morgan Stanley in a note maintained its overweight rating on the stock. However, it cut its price target to Rs 935 from the earlier target of Rs 1,090, citing delays in deal conversions.

While recent deal wins may support near-term growth rates, Morgan Stanley has trimmed its FY21 growth outlook due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Shares trade 4.3 percent lower at Rs 656.95, down for the third straight day.

Shares of one of India's largest steel producers fell as much as 6.3 percent to Rs 141.8 on the National Stock Exchange. It is also the second biggest loser on the Nifty 50 index after Bajaj Finance.

Investec published a note on the stock citing the catch-22 situation that the steel mills like JSW Steel are in. The headwinds include shutdowns, forex headwinds and the high leverage. Investec mentions that the stock price correction poses a risk to incremental pledge cover required.

Shares trade at their lowest level since June 28, 2016 and are down nearly 60 percent from its 52-week high of Rs 314, made in May 2019.

• Nifty futures add 2.6 percent in open interest and 2.5 lakh shares.
• Nifty Bank futures add 15.5 percent in open interest and 1.35 lakh shares

Nifty: April 1 Expiry

• 9,000 Call: Premium falls 34.5 percent to Rs 115.8. The contract has added 3.55 lakh shares in open interest.
• 8,000 Put: Premium falls 25.2 percent to Rs 140.8. The contract has added 2.96 lakh shares in open interest.
• 9,500 Call: Premium falls 41.4 percent to Rs 31.25. The contract has added 1.57 lakh shares in open interest.

Nifty Bank: April 1 Expiry

• 22,000 Call: Premium falls 41.3 percent to Rs 180.25. The contract has added 68,420 shares in open interest.
• 21,000 Call: Premium falls 35 percent to Rs 384.60. The contract has added 93,340 shares in open interest.
• 23,000 Call: Premium falls 47.4 percent to Rs 82.90. The contract has added 1.25 lakh shares in open interest.

The state-run lender cut lending rates by 75 basis points, in-line with the Monetary Policy Committee's decision to cut repo rate by the same quantum on Friday.

Repo-linked lending rate cut to 7.25 percent. The cut in lending rates apply to retail and MSME loans from March 28 itself.

In a statement to the exchanges, the lender said that lending rates for existing loans will be reset at monthly intervals.

Shares trade 2.67 percent lower at Rs 52.90 on the National Stock Exchange, down for the third day in a row.

Shares of the Mumbai-based pharma company are up for the third straight day today. It is also the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index.

The company recently received the final approval for generic version of Nexium, used in the treatment of gastric diseases.

Shares surged as much as 4 percent to Rs 423.80 on the National Stock Exchange. Prices are up 11.5 percent in the last three sessions.

Gains from the last three sessions have added Rs 3,547 crore to the company's market capitalisation.

• Nifty down 1.6 percent at 8,515
• Sensex down 1.7 percent at 29,313
• Nifty Bank down 2.1 percent at 19,528
• Nifty Midcap and Smallcap index down 2 percent each
• India Volatility Index up 2 percent at 71.74
• Nifty Auto Index Down 4 percent
• Nifty Metal, PSU Bank and Realty Index down over 2.5 percent
• Nifty I.T. and Pharma up over 0.5 percent
• Cipla top Nifty Gainer - up 3 percent
• Bajaj Finance remains top Nifty loser - down 9 percent
• 519 stocks trade with gains while 1,053 stocks decline.

Shares of the pharmaceutical player fell as much as 7.7 percent to Rs 312 on the National Stock Exchange.

The company recieved an OAI for its Halol facility from the U.S. FDA, implying that the U.S. FDA may withhold any pending product application or supplement filed from this facility till the observations are resolved. As of now, the Halol facility contributes 3-4 percent of the consolidated revenues from the U.S. Market.

Shares currently are off opening lows but trade 3.6 percent lower at Rs 326.

Share of the entertainment and gaming services provider rose as much as 5.31 percent to Rs 62.45 on the National Stock Exchange.

The company approved a share buyback worth Rs 125 crore over the weekend. The buyback price of Rs 100 is a 68 percent premium to Friday's closing price.

Shares are locked in an upper circuit of 5 percent for the third straight day, after snapping an 11-day losing streak on Thursday.

Indian equity markets opened on a negative note, tracking weakness across the Asia-Pacific region as well as in the U.S. futures.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 3.7 percent lower at 28,708, down for the second straight day. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty 50 index snapped a four-day gaining streak to open 3.77 percent lower at 8,333. All Nifty constituents barring Cipla opened with losses.

Among Sectoral Indices, all of them opened with losses with the Nifty Bank, Nifty Media, Metal and PSU Banking index falling over 3 percent. Nifty I.T. and FMCG opened with cuts of nearly 2 percent.

Market breadth was adverse with 1,055 stocks opening with losses while 356 stocks gained in opening trade.

• Global cases climb above 7.2 lakh
• Death toll rises to 34,000 with U.S. registering 2,400 deaths
• Recoveries stand at 1.51 lakh
• Singapore's central bank eased monetary policy while China injected $7 billion into its financial system
• Total cases in India rise to 1,024 with death toll rising to 27

The currency opened weak at 75.27 against the U.S. Dollar as compared to Friday's close of 74.92. The three-day gaining streak was the longest for the currency in a month.

The steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India are unlikely to revive demand in the economy but it can improve sentiment, according to Upasna Bhardwaj, an economist with Kotak Mahindra Bank.

• Buy ICICI Bank for target of Rs 360 and stop loss of Rs 325
• Buy Alkem Labs for target of Rs 2,520 and stop loss of Rs 2,250
• Sell M&M Financial for target of Rs 145 and stop loss of Rs 170

• SBI: Cuts lending rates by 75 basis points, retail term deposit rates between 20-50 basis points and bulk deposit rates by 50-100 basis points across maturities.
• Sun Pharma: Gets OAI from U.S. FDA for its Halol facility. 19 ANDAs and 2 NDAs currently pending from Halol which contributes 3-4 percent of consolidated revenue from U.S. market.
• Delta Corp: Board approves buyback at Rs 100 per share; a 68 percent premium to Friday's closing price.
• Coffee Day Enterprises: Gets first tranche payment of Rs 2,000 crore from Blackstone and Salarpuria Sattva Group for the Global Village Tech Park. Proceeds used to repay principal and interest amount worth Rs 1,644 crore to lenders.
• Future Retail: Clarifies that there is no such activity of Kishore Biyani selling stake.
• IndusInd Bank: Makes timely interest payment of Rs 156.4 crore towards additional Tier-1 bonds.
• Grasim: To consider NCD issue of up to Rs 1,000 crore on April 1.
• IDBI Bank: Withdraws bond issue of Rs 1,000 crore due to rate cuts announced by the RBI, leading to significant fall in interest rates in the market.

Find out all that you need to know going into today’s trade and the companies impacted by Covid-19 here.

• Benchmark indices posted their best week since at least 2009, despite snapping a three-day rally on Friday.
• The S&P 500 fell 3.4 percent but was up 10 percent for the week, the best weekly gain since March 2009. The index remains 25 percent below its record high.
• The Dow Jones reported its biggest weekly advance since 1938, despite finishing with only two gainers on Friday's trading session.
• Cboe Volatility Index closed above 60 for the 10th straight session.
• President Donald Trump signed the $2 trillion stimulus bill, the largest ever in U.S. history.

Know what is happening across Asian Markets this Monday morning here.

The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of NSE Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, fell 1.4 percent to 8,432 as of 7:05 a.m.

Risk off sentiment prevails across Asia with Japanese and South Korean markets underperforming. The dollar has snapped a four-day slide while oil prices fell below the $20 mark at one point of time in New York.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of All You Need To Know before the opening bell.