Sensex, Nifty End Lower For Third Day; PSU Bank Index At 15-Month High

Indian equities declined for the third day in a row as private lenders and automobile companies underperformed.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.7% to close at 51,324 while the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.6% to end at 15,119.

PSUs were the outperformers on the Nifty today. The top six gainers on the index were state-run companies. Gains were led by ONGC (up 7.6%) and GAIL (up 7%) along with OMCs like BPCL (up 4.2%) and Indian Oil (up 4%).

Banks were a tale of two extremes in today's weekly options expiry session. The Nifty Bank index ended with losses of close to a percent, while the index of state-run lenders rose for the fifth straight day to end at a 15-month high.

The other underperformers in today's session were auto stocks. The index ended 1.3% lower while the Media index fell 0.8%. Nifty FMCG and Nifty Pharma fell 0.4% and 0.5% each.

Other than PSU Banks, the Nifty I.T. and Nifty Metal indices gained in today's session, both ending 1.3% higher.

Broader markets outperformed yet again. The Nifty Midcap index rose 0.5% while the Smallcap index ended 1% higher.

The India Volatility Index ended little changed at 21.54.

1,050 stocks on the NSE ended with gains while 856 stocks ended lower.

• Nifty up 15 points at 15,222
• Sensex up 20 points at 51,719
• Nifty Bank down 60 points at 36,845
• Nifty Midcap index up 0.6%
• Nifty Small cap index up 1.1%
• India Volatility Index down 0.5% to 21.4
• PSU Bank index is the top sectoral gainer; up 4%
• Nifty Metal index gains 1.3% while the I.T. index gains 1.1%
• Pharma index gains 0.3% while the Auto index declines 0.3%
• GAIL is the top Nifty gainer; up 4.9%
• Mahindra & Mahindra is the top Nifty laggard; down 1.7%
• 1,237 stocks on the NSE trade with gains while 526 stocks decline

Indian equities have opened the weekly options expiry session with modest gains after two straight days of decline.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 0.4% higher at 51,903 while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 30 points at the start of trade to 15,238.

Among the sectoral indices, the PSU Bank index has opened higher for the fifth day in a row with gains of 3% while the Nifty Bak index is up 180 points in the early minutes of trade.

The Auto and Metal indices have opened with gains of 0.4% each while the Media index is up 0.6%.

Broader markets have opened higher as compared to the benchmark indices. The Nifty Midcap index is up 0.5% while the Small cap index has gained 0.7% at the start of trade.

1,176 stocks on the NSE have opened with gains while 445 stocks have opened lower.

Good Morning!

Indian equities witnessed a pullback for the second day in a row as IT, pharma and select private bank stocks underperformed.

Yet, the Sensex and Nifty 50 are up nearly 12% so far this month.

Futures are indicating a steady start to Thursday's weekly options expiry session. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.3% to 15,245 as of 7:45 a.m.

Asian markets are trading lower this morning. Chinese markets are outperforming after resuming trade post a week-long Lunar New Year Holiday. Stocks in South Korea and Japan trade lower, while those in Australia are fluctuating.

Futures on the Dow Jones gave up early session gains to trade little changed. The index ended 0.3% higher on Wednesday.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4% to $62 per barrel after historic power outages in the U.S. caused production in the country to fall by a third. According to traders, production of more than 4 lakh barrels per day has gone offline.

Gold was little changed at $1,779.8/Oz, the lowest in nearly eight months.

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