Closing Bell: Sensex plunges over 600 points, Nifty below 18,200 as covid woes dampen mood; healthcare stocks make hay

Domestic stock markets ended Wednesday with deep cuts as selling pressure weighed on Dalal Street. The sharp fall in the frontline indices S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty50 was on the resurgence of Covid-19 in China and the US. 

Sensex tumbled more than 630 points while Nifty50 ended below 18200 for the first time since November 10, 2022. The sell-off was triggered by auto, FMCG, banking & financial stocks. 

Sensex closed 1 per cent lower at 61,067.24 levels while Nifty50 finished at 18,199.10, down 186 points.  

In the 50-share Nifty50, there were 38 declines with Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, and Bajaj Finserv ending as top losers while Divi’s Laboratories, Cipla, Apollo Hospital, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories were biggest gainers. 

Also Read: Stock Market Today Highlights: Sensex plunges over 600 points, Nifty below 18,200 level as coronavirus fears grip D-Street

Banking gauge Nifty Bank declined nearly 2 per cent to end at 42,618 levels. IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were the worst performers in the 12-stock index. 

Broader markets underperformed the benchmarks as Nifty Mid Cap 100 and Small Cap 100 were down over 1.5 each.  

Out of the 15 Nifty Sectoral indices, 13 ended in the red. The gainers were Nifty Pharma and IT which were up over 2 and 0.5 per cent respectively. Nifty Metal was down over 2 per cent followed by Nifty Bank, financials, auto, FMCG, and realty. Each was down between 1-2 per cent. 

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai ended lower, while Hong Kong logged gains. Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the positive territory in mid-session deals. The US markets had ended higher on Tuesday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.08 per cent to USD 80.85 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 455.94 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.