FINAL TRADE | Nifty gives up 22,000, Sensex tanks 906 pts; all sectors bleed

Stock market today: Wednesday's (March 13) session belonged to the bears as Dalal Street saw heavy selling across sectors that erased all the early gains. The 50-scrip Nifty index ended in the red at 21,997.7, down 338 points, or 1.5 per cent, from its previous close while the Sensex gauge finished the day with a loss of 906.1 points, or 1.2 per cent, at 72,761.9, continuing to fall for a second straight day.

PowerGrid, Coal India, Adani Enterprises, and NTPC were among the top losers in the Nifty basket, falling up to 7 per cent. On the other hand, ITC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bajaj Finance were among the top gainers.

Investors lost Rs 13.5 lakh crore in wealth as the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies declined to Rs 3,72,11,044 crore at the end of trade on Wednesday from Rs 3,85,64,425.5 crore the previous day, according to provisional exchange data.

Broader indices Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 sharply underperformed the headline gauges, finishing 5.3 per cent and 4.4 per cent lower, respectively.

"In contrast to the global uptrend, an unfavourable risk-reward balance of mid- and small-cap stocks, fuelled by prolonged premium valuations, has aggravated the downfall. Meanwhile, FMCG and contrarian plays like gold are offering some refuge. Other than the premium valuation no fundamental issue is noticed to drawback the long-term growth image of domestic midcaps," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

The Nifty Bank shed 301.1 points, or 0.6 per cent, to settle at 46,981.3. Read more 

Global Markets

European shares began the day at record highs as upbeat corporate updates encouraged market sentiment while investors awaited industrial production data from the region. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1 per cent at the last count, continuing to rise after registering a record closing high the previous day.

"Globally, the persistent US inflation rate has cast doubt on the Fed's ability to implement imminent rate cuts while domestic inflation appears to be showing signs of easing. However, the easing trend in global commodity prices may prompt central banks to consider rate cuts in the latter half of 2024, which could be positive for equity," Nair added. 

Catch the latest stock market updates here. For all other news related to business, politics, tech, sports and auto, visit Zeebiz.com.