Sensex slips over 100 points in early trade, Nifty below 14,650; M&M, ONGC, TCS down

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The benchmark equity indices traded in the red in early trade on Friday amid rising worries over the economic impact of the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns as well as restrictions in various states.

The BSE Sensex traded 144 points, or 0.30%, down at 48,546 at around 9.30 am (IST). On the other hand, the NSE Nifty index traded 61 points, or 0.41%, down at 14,635 at around the same time.

As many as 21 stocks in the Sensex pack traded in the red with Mahindra & Mahindra falling 2.16%. ONGC, TCS, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank were down between 1%-2%. On the other hand, Asian Paints traded 9.43% higher at Rs 2797.20. Dr Reddy’s Labs, ITC and Sun Pharma were also up over half a per cent.

Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the Metal index was down 3% in the early trade. The BSE Utilities, Auto, Basic Materials, Oil & Gas and Realty were also down over 1%. On the other hand, FMCG, Healthcare and Capital Goods were up 0.22%.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, “Back home Covid data continues to be grim and the consequent extensions of lockdowns in many states mean growth and earnings in Q1FY22 will be lower than initial estimates. There is safety in IT, pharma, chemicals and high-quality financials. Consumer discretionary, particularly autos, will face rough weather.”

Meanwhile, PowerGrid Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) IPO shares are scheduled to be listed on stock exchanges on Friday. The public issue was subscribed 4.83 times on the last day of the subscription. The Rs 7,735-crore issue received bids for 205 crore units against 42 crore units on offer. This is the first Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) in the country to be floated by a public sector company.

Markets remain closed on Thursday on account of Id-Ul-Fitr or Ramzan Eid.

The US markets ended higher on Thursday after data showed fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week and producer prices surged last month. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Friday following overnight gains on Wall Street.