Market Wrap: Nifty Closes Below 22,400, Sensex Down 201 Points, Metal, Realty Top Laggards

On March 13, Indian equity markets opened on a positive sentiment. Despite the positive start, benchmark indices closed in the negative territory. The Sensex fell 200.85 points or 0.27 per cent to 73,828.91, and the Nifty declined 73.30 points or 0.33 per cent to 22,397.20 at the close. The BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices each shed 0.5 per cent.  Earlier today the Sensex rose 0.15 per cent to 74,138.81, while the Nifty50 gained 0.09 per cent to reach 22,491.5 before closing lower.

Sectoral Performance

Among the sectoral pack, Nifty Realty and Nifty Auto were the top laggards closing lower by up to 1.83 per cent. Conversely, the PSU Bank index closed in the green up by 0.01 per cent.

Top Gainers and Losers

Major Nifty losers such as Shriram Finance, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors closed lower by as much as 2.66 per cent. Bharat Electronics, SBI, ICICI Bank, and Cipla emerged as top-gainers, closing higher by 1.18 per cent.

Notable Stock Movements

SEPC Ltd. shares surged over 14 per cent to an intraday high of Rs 17.49 on the NSE, following the company's announcement of a framework agreement with ROSHN Group.

MTNL shares jumped over 18 per cent amid reports of the state-owned telecom firm's earnings of Rs 2,134.61 crore from the monetisation of lands and buildings.

Global Markets

In the US markets the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indices closed in positive territory, amid a boost from tech and tech-adjacent stocks and cooler-than-expected inflation data on March 12. Asian markets, especially China, saw declines due to investor concerns over trade policies. European indices displayed varied performances, with Germany's DAX declining by 0.2 per cent, while France's CAC 40 and the UK's FTSE 100 increased by 0.4 per cent.

Primary Market Action

The subscription window of Super Iron Foundry IPO closed on March 13. The public issues of Paradeep Parivahan Ltd and Divine Hira Jewellers Ltd will open for subscription next week.