On the 30-share index, Maruti was the biggest loser, shedding 3.60 per cent. Other major laggards were Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp and NTPC -- ending up to 2.33 per cent lower.
ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 4.64 per cent, followed by Axis Bank at 3.86 per cent and SBI 2.53 per cent.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 674 points on Friday, weighed by losses in banking stocks as an unabated spike in new coronavirus cases fuelled uncertainty over the economic impact of the pandemic. After hitting a low of 27,500.79 during the day, the 30-share BSE barometer ended 674.36 points or 2.39 per cent lower at 27,590.95. The NSE Nifty shed 170 points, or 2.06 per cent, to finish at 8,083.80.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also closed higher by 61.60 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 10,504.80 after shuttling between 10,513 and 10,441.45.
Yes Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, crashing 8.36 per cent, followed by NTPC, M&M, Vedanta, Sun Pharma and TCS, which lost up to 4.81 per cent lower.
The 30-share Sensex stayed in the green for the better part of the session and hit the day's high of 38,297.70 as buying pace gathered momentum towards the fag-end.
Slowdown in industrial production notwithstanding, a marginal increase in inflation raised the clamour for another round of rate cut by the Reserve Bank on April 4 to boost economic activity.
Among Sensex components, shares of Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market value, stole the show by surging 1.61 per cent to their highest in over three months.
TCS and Infosys were the top losers in the Sensex pack, falling up to 3.39 per cent.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
The central bank has lowered its policy rate twice so far in 2015.
Sustained foreign fund inflows and strengthening rupee are among the main reasons behind the market rally.
Among Sensex constituents, Vedanta fell 3.40 per cent, followed by SBI 3.17 per cent, Yes Bank 3.11 per cent, Axis Bank 1.68 per cent, ONGC 1.60 per cent, Power Grid 1.52 per cent and HDFC 1.48 per cent.
In refusing to accept its failure, the government has sowed the seeds of further damage: by keeping India short of cash; reducing the headroom for responses to seasonal spikes in cash demand; and increasing the chances that groups will panic at temporary cash shortages, says Mihir Sharma.
The wider NSE Nifty touched a low of 10,652.40 before finishing at 10,671.40, showing a loss of 97.75 points, or 0.91 per cent.
Analysts say there is still no visibility of earnings improvement.
'My immediate objective is to start thinking about research once again. Start understanding the world we are in which has changed quite a bit.'
Broader gains were capped as investors awaited corporate results from major firms
In the Sensex pack, index heavyweight Reliance Industries fell 2.84 per cent to Rs 1,057.15 after reports that the company's oil assets may take a hit due to the government's imposition of cost controls on soaring petrol and diesel prices.
The BSE Sensex was down 326 points at 23,277 and the Nifty was down 107 points at 7,056.
Other than ITC, other laggards include PowerGrid, Infosys, M&M, NTPC, SBI, HDFC, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, ONGC, RIL, Asian Paint, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank.
Tata Steel was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 3.36 per cent, followed by Vedanta, Bajaj Finance, TCS, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, ONGC, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, M&M and ITC.
A section of analysts feel now may not be a bad time to buy select PSBs.
Finance Minister expects rate cut by RBI.
Among food articles, vegetable prices surged by 69.69 per cent mainly on account of onion, which witnessed 455.83 per cent jump in prices, followed by potato at 44.97 per cent.
India's state banks are under pressure to improve profitability.
Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers' queries on stocks they own or want to buy.
The bourse's valuations may get a boost, as it gets set for its OFS of about Rs 10,000 crore.
The Sensex posted its biggest single-day jump in over a decade at 1,921 points and investors' wealth soared by a staggering Rs 6.8 lakh crore after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a surprise cut in corporate tax rates on Friday.
Other losers included HCL Tech, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, TCS, ONGC, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, Vedanta, Asian Paints, NTPC and Hero MotoCorp, which shed up to 4.07 per cent.
Shares of rate-sensitive realty, bank and auto sectors were on buyer's radar on Wednesday.
The benchmark indices have rallied 28 per cent this year, while the broader market has outperformed
But, neither were the big companies interested in growing inorganically nor were the smaller ones ready to offer themselves for sale.
Among the Sensex pack, Yes Bank, L&T, HDFC, RIL, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid and Coal India were the biggest losers -- falling up to 2.43 per cent.
Analysts, however, said the timing of the infusion was good.
