Sensex, Nifty end lower as FMCG, Financial stocks drag
Sensex and Nifty Today 21 March 2022: Indian stock markets opened in the green on Monday amid positive cues from the global markets. The key benchmarks fell below their neutral lines immediately after the opening and traded in red terrain. Nifty today opened at 17329.50 levels, up by 42.45 points while Sensex made a positive opening of 166.48 points at 58030.41.
Stock Market News Today
The market sentiments were negative with the reports that consumers may have to pay more for their daily essential items with FMCG companies mulling another round of price hikes to offset the impact of an unprecedented level of inflation in commodity prices such as wheat, palm oil, and packaging materials. Besides, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has also added another blow to FMCG makers as they expect a rise in the prices of wheat, edible oil, and crude.
However, the investors have overlooked the latest payroll data report stating that retirement fund body EPFO added 15.29 lakh subscribers on a net basis in Jan 2022, an increase of over 21 percent compared to 12.60 lakh in December 2021. Meanwhile, crude oil prices have rebounded and the Brent crude oil has hit $12.59 per barrel, rise in crude oil prices hit market sentiments today.
On the global front, Asian markets opened higher on Monday tracking positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. Later the markets trimmed their early gains and closed mixed on the first day of the week. European markets are currently trading marginally higher on Monday at 3.30 pm IST.
Sensex, Nifty indexes at the close today
At the close, the Nifty index declined 169.45 points or 0.98 percent and closed at 17117.60 levels while Sensex was down by 571.44 points or 0.99 percent and finished at 57292.49 levels. The Bank Nifty index ended lower by 410.05 points or 1.13 percent on spot and ended at 36018.50 levels.
The broader markets closed mixed today. The Nifty midcap index was down by 81.45 points or 0.28 percent and closed at 28896.45 levels. The Nifty smallcap index closed higher by 24.05 points or 0.23 percent and finished at 10303.10 levels.
Top Nifty gainers and losers
The top gainers in the Nifty 50 index were Coal India, Hindalco, UPL, ONGC, and HDFC Bank whereas the top losers were Britannia, Tata Consumer, Power Grid, Grasim, and Shree Cement
The top gainers in the Nifty midcap index were Oil India, Alembic Pharma, and Guj State Petro and the top losers were Dhani Services, Shriram Transport, and Balkrishna Industries.
The small top gainers were Wockhardt, Sterlite Techno, and Delta Corp, and the top losers were Future Retail, Sunteck Realty, and Bharat Dynamics
The most active stocks in the Nifty index in terms of value were Infy, Reliance, and Tata Steel. The most active stocks in terms of volume were ITC, Coal India, and ONGC
On a sectoral front, Media, Metals, and Pharma were closed in the green today. The sectors that drag the markets were FMCG, Financial, Auto, Banking and Oil & Gas
You may also like to read, Stock Market Prediction Next Week (21 – 25 March 2022)
Trade setup for Monday 21 March 2022- Morning report
Happy Investing!!
Editorial desk
