MUMBAI, 3 MAR

Benchmark BSE Sensex declined by 112 points while Nifty fell for the ninth straight session on Monday following selling in blue-chips HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries.

In a see-saw trade, the 30-share BSE benchmark declined by 112.16 points or 0.15 per cent to close at 73,085.94 as 18 of its components advanced and 12 declined.

The index opened higher but soon fell to the day’s low of 72,784.54 due to intense selling in large caps. The barometer staged a rebound in the second half amid positive Asian markets and hit a high of 73,649.72 before paring gains to close down.

Extending losses to the ninth session, the NSE Nifty slipped 5.40 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 22,119.30. The index slumped 120 points or 0.54 per cent to hit a low of 22,004.70 but later recovered most of the losses.

From the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Asian Paints were among the laggards.

Reliance Industries fell the most by 2.38 per cent to close at Rs 1,171.10 apiece. During the day, it went down by 3.63 per cent to hit a 52-week low of Rs 1,156 per piece.

UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were the gainers.

"The market experienced a gradual recovery from its intraday low, driven by improving economic growth, a rebound in consumption expenditure, and healthy expansion in the agricultural sector, which influenced investor sentiment. With valuations approaching oversold levels, domestic indicators suggest the potential for a rebound,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Global uncertainties and sustained foreign fund outflows continue to keep market participants cautious, Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

The BSE smallcap gauge dipped 0.70 per cent, however, midcap index went up 0.25 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, Energy (1.11 per cent), Financial Services (0.54 per cent), Bankex (0.28 per cent), Oil & Gas (0.50 per cent), and Services (0.49 per cent) were the losers.

On the other hand, Capital Goods, Power, Consumer Durables, Realty, Commodities, Teck, Focussed IT, Utilities and Metal were among the gainers.

As many as 2,852 stocks declined while 1,235 advanced and 147 remained unchanged on the BSE.

A monthly survey showd that India's manufacturing sector growth fell to a 14-month low in February amid softer increase in new orders and production.

"Although output growth slowed to the weakest level since December 2023, overall momentum in India's manufacturing sector remained broadly positive in February," said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC.

Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises which owns the Cafe Coffee Day chain, surged 20 per cent to hit its upper circuit limit after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) set aside the insolvency proceedings against the company.

"Indian benchmark indices ended on a muted note, with the Nifty 50 ending at 22,119.30 and the BSE Sensex ending at 73,176.25. However, there was a slight recovery from the intraday low, influenced by economic growth. Investors still remain cautious amid the ongoing US tariff uncertainty," Ameya Ranadive Chartered Market Technician, CFTe, Sr Technical Analyst, StoxBox, said.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended in green, while Shanghai in red. Seoul stock markets were closed due to a holiday.

European markets were trading in the positive territory in the mid-session deals. The US markets ended positive on Friday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.58 per cent to USD 72.39 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 11,639.02 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the BSE index tanked 1,414.33 points to settle at 73,198.10. The NSE Nifty slumped 420.35 points to close at 22,124.70.