Market Roundup: Bourses end in red for fifth day; index majors including Infosys, RIL, TCS track losses

The domestic equity markets opened on a positive note on Thursday. However, it entered a free-fall later in the day and made a lower closing by declining over 1 percent for the fifth consecutive day, tracking losses in index majors Infosys, RIL and TCS. BSE The BSE Sensex fell 585.10 points or 1.17 percent to close at 49,216.52. ITC, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Bharati Airtel are among the top gainers. Whereas, the list of top losers include -Infosys, HCL Technologies, Dr Reddy, TCS and Tech Mahindra. Top BSE Sensex gainers: ITC: The shares of the company gained 3.25 percent to close at Rs 217.40. Bajaj Auto: The shares of the company closed at Rs 3,666.00 gaining 2.53 percent. Mahindra and Mahindra: The share of the company witnessed a hike of 1.03 percent to end at Rs 845.35. Maruti Suzuki: Shares of the company gained 0.72 percent to close at Rs 7,114.00. Bharti Airtel: Shares of the telecom major gained 0.60 percent to end the day at Rs 526.00. Top BSE Sensex Losers: HCL Technologies: Shares of the company fell 3.97 percent to give a lower ending at Rs 948.30. Infosys: 3.67 percent fall was witnessed in the share prices of the company to give a negative ending at Rs 1,336.25. Dr Reddy: The shares closed at Rs 4,211.30 witnessing a decline of 3.34 percent. TCS: 2.44 percent decline was noted in the share prices which closed at Rs 3,036.80. Tech Mahindra: The shares of the company ended at Rs 996.15, down by 2.36 percent. National Stock Exchange The NSE Nifty ended lower at 14,557.85, losing 163.45 points or 1.11 percent. The Nifty sectoral indices were trading mixed, with the Nifty IT index losing the most as it closed at 25,373.35, down by 3.09 percent or 810.15 points followed by Nifty Pharma which dragged 2.32 percent or 273.05 points to close at 11,514.45. Nifty Auto lost over 0.087 percent or 8.85 points to close at 10,150.25. On the contrary, Nifty FMCG closed at 33,222.60 up by 28.00 points or 0.084 percent.  Top gainers on NSE Nifty: ITC: The share price of ITC surged 3.99 percent to close at Rs 219.00. Bajaj Auto: It witnessed a hike of 2.94 percent to close at Rs 3,674.55. Hindalco: 1.95 percent gain was witnessed by the company to close the day at Rs 332.75. Grasim Industries: The shares of the company ended at Rs 1,392.00, up by 1.82 percent. Bharti Airtel: The shares of the telecom major ended at Rs 530.75 witnessing a hike of 1.50 percent.  Top losers on NSE Nifty: HCL Technologies: The shares of the company declined by 3.47 percent to settle lower at Rs 953.15. Infosys: 3.26 percent fall was observed in the share prices which closed at Rs 1,341.80. Divis Lab: The company’s shares dragged by 3.00 percent to end at Rs 3,277.00. Dr Reddy: The shares of the company closed at Rs 4,230.00 witnessing a decline of 2.89 percent. Hero Motocorp: The shares of the company lost 2.45 percent to settle the day at Rs 3,112.50. “Having seen a brisk gap-up opening on positive global cues, domestic equities fell sharply for the fifth consecutive day as sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country made investors jittery,” said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities. A sharp rise in daily COVID-19 cases in India has raised apprehensions about the sustainability of ongoing rebound in corporate earnings, he noted, adding that the mounting concerns of possible fresh economic restrictions made enthusiasm of dovish commentary from the Federal Reserve short-lived for domestic markets. After its two-day policy meeting, the US Fed reassured investors that it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero through 2023. Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended with gains in the overnight session. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note. Bourses in Europe were also trading higher in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.40 per cent lower at $67.73 per barrel. With inputs from PTI