Sensex, Nifty fall sharply on weak global cues; Suzlon, Yes Bank, UCO Bank most active

Share Market Updates Today: Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in early deals on Tuesday, taking cues from the global markets. Investor sentiment got hit amid recession fears in the US and a surge in Covid-19 cases in China.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex dived 406 points or 0.66 per cent to trade at 61,400, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 124 points or 0.67 per cent down to trade at 18,296. Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange fell 91.5 points or 0.49 per cent to trade at 18,395.5, hinting at a gap-down start for the domestic market.

Hindalco, Eicher Motors, Dr Reddy's, Hindustan Unilever and JSW Steel were among the top laggards on the NSE platform today with their shares down as much as 1.56 per cent. In contrast, Adani Enterprises, Axis Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the top gainers.

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Mid- and small-cap shares were weak as Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.50 per cent and small-cap slipped 0.31 per cent.

All 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty IT, Nifty Metal and Nifty Auto were underperforming the NSE platform by falling 1.06 per cent, 0.94 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively.

The overall market breadth stood negative as 1,171 shares were seen advancing while 858 were declining on BSE.

Suzlon, JP Power, Yes Bank, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, UCO Bank, Vikas Life, HCC, Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank and Green Power were the most active stocks on the NSE platform, in terms of volume.

On the global front, Asian shares mostly traded lower. Japan's Nikkei plunged 2.39 per cent, South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.62 per cent, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.64 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tanked 1.41 per cent. 

Overnight, all three major US stock indexes settled sharply lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 163 points or 0.49 per cent to close at 32,757.54; the S&P 500 moved 35 points or 0.90 per cent down to finish at 3,817.66; and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 159 points or 1.49 per cent to settle at 10,546.03.

"The overarching theme impacting global equity markets now is the possibility of a US recession in 2023. While a slowdown in the US economy is a given, opinion is divided on whether the US can manage a soft landing of the economy. Economic data indicate a slowing economy and declining inflation which implies that the Fed is close to pausing on rate hikes. Confirmation of this trend can lead to revival in equity markets," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Stocks in F&O ban

Balrampur Chini Mills, BHEL, Delta Corp, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC), Indiabulls Housing Finance, IRCTC and PNB are in F&O (Futures and Options) ban period today. Stocks are placed under F&O ban when the derivative contracts in their securities cross 95 per cent of the market-wide position limit.

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FII-DII data

Foreign institutional investors sold Rs 538.10 crore worth of equities on a net basis on Monday, while domestic investors bought Rs 687.38 crore of shares, as per provisional NSE data.