Market close in red, NIFTY50 slips below 21,200, while SENSEX falls over 900 points, surge in crude oil price above $80 per barrel and rising Covid-19 cases drag down market; Stock Market Highlights

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The NIFTY Financial Services (-1.0%) index closed lower today. All of the index constituents closed in red, with REC Ltd (-7.4%), PFC (-7.2%), IEX (-7.0%) amongst the top losers.

The NIFTY Midcap 100 index (-3.2%) fell over 1400 points today as the market sees profit booking in the last hour of trade. The NIFTY Smallcap 100 Index also closed in red, down 3.6%.

The BANK NIFTY (-0.8%) index closed in red at 47,445. Fall in SBI (+3.1%), ICICI Bank (+1.1%) and Kotak Bank (+1.5%) dragged down the index.

• Benchmark indices wiped off early gains and slipped into negative territory today, with NIFTY 50 (-1.4%) trading below the 21,200 level, while SENSEX halts record run, nosedives over 900 points.

• 46 out of the NIFTY50 stocks closed in red. Sell-off in heavyweight stocks like L&T (-2.3%), Infosys (-1.7%), Reliance Industries (-1.1%), ICICI Bank (-1.1%) dragged down the markets.

• All sectoral indices closed lower, with PSU Bank (-4.0%), Metal (-3.8%), Realty (-2.4%) amongst top losers.

• A recent rise in crude oil prices in the international markets after Houthi militants attacked oil ships in the Red Sea could impact global oil supplies as several shipping giants paused shipments through this route following attacks. Brent Crude oil trades around $80 per barrel.

• Rising oil prices have raised investors' concerns as India has a huge dependency on oil imports.

• Other than this, rise in Covid-19 cases, with 614 fresh infections recorded in India in the past 24 hours, highest since May 2023, has also raised investor concern.

• Long build up: ONGC, Tata Consumer, Britannia, HDFC Bank
• Short build up: UPL, Eicher Motors, Divi’s Lab, HCL Tech, Apollo Hospitals

Nazara Technologies, India’s leading gaming and sport platform has announced partnerships with four distinguished Indian game studios. As part of the deal, Nazara Tech will invest and publish multiple games offered by these studios. This new initiative is part of Nazara's new publishing division, which aims to publish 20 games within the next 12 to 18 months, investing between ₹1 crore to ₹3 crores per game. Hence, promoting the "Make in India" vision in the gaming sector.

India’s benchmark indices, NIFTY50 (-1.0%) and Sensex (-1.0%) trades in red dragged down by sell-off in heavyweight stocks like Reliance Industries (-1.3%), ICICI Bank (-0.9%), L&T (-1.4%). Meanwhile, NIFTY MIDCAP 100 falls over 1100 points, while NIFTY SMALLCAP 100 sheds more than 400 points.

Transformers and Rectifiers (India) Ltd soared more than 5% in early trade. This comes after the company announced that it has secured orders worth ₹219 crore from the state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. This marks the company's second order from Power Grid in two days. A day ago, the company signed a contract worth ₹237 crore from Power Grid.

Oil India's shares surged to a new record high, presently trading at ₹372 (+8.9%) per share after hitting nearly a six year record high at ₹406 per share. This came two days after the government cut the windfall profit tax on crude oil produced in the country and on exports of diesel.

This year, the stock has seen a remarkable 82.01% surge.