Sensex, Nifty End Volatile F&O Expiry Lower Dragged By Autos, RIL

Indian equities endured sharp swings on either side as the March series F&O expiry had a volatile close.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 1.5% lower at 48,440 while the NSE Nifty 50 too fell 1.5% to end at 14,324. 45 out of the 50 index constituents ended with losses. The top contributor to the downside was Reliance Industries which fell over 2.5% and was down for the second day in a row.

Benchmark indices had nearly pared losses courtesy a recovery in banks and metal stocks but the recovery was swiftly sold into. This is the second F&O series loss posted by the markets in 2021.

Sectoral indices too endured a volatile trading session. The Nifty Media index ended as the top sectoral laggard with losses of 3%. The Nifty Auto index was among the top sectoral laggards, ending 2.8% lower.

The PSU Bank index, which fell as much as 5% during the session, recovered from the day's low to end with losses of 2.6%. The Nifty FMCG and Nifty I.T. indices too saw losses of over 2% in today's session. The realty index also saw declines of 2.5%.

The Nifty Bank index, which fell over 800 points intraday, saw a bout of recovery and ended 0.8% lower, just above the mark of 33,000 at 33,006. The Nifty Metal index was the only sectoral index that ended with a positive bias.

Broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices in today's session. The Nifty Midcap index fell 2% while the Smallcap index declined 2.2%.

Despite the heavy volatility, the India Volatility index rose only 1% to end at 22.7.

1,544 stocks on the NSE ended lower while 367 managed to post gains.