Market Wrap, Dec 16: SENSEX tanks 533 pts, NIFTY50 at 25,860 as rupee breaches ₹91/$; Axis Bank declines over 5%

The Indian stock market ended lower on Tuesday, December 16, dragged down by losses in IT, metal and banking stocks amid weak global cues. The investors’ sentiment was further dented as the rupee slipped to record low levels against the US dollar.

Persistent foreign fund outflows also kept the market investors nervous.

The domestic currency has fallen from 90 dollars to 91 in the last 10 trading sessions. The local unit has slipped 1% against the greenback in the past five sessions alone. 

According to exchange data, on Monday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹1,468.32 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,792.25 crore on a net basis.

Globally, Asian equity markets closed lower on Tuesday, extending recent losses as investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of a slew of key US and regional economic data releases.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.58%, Taiwan Weighted declined 1.2%, South Korea's KOSPI fell 2.29%, and China's Shanghai Composite tumbled 1.13%, while Japan's Nikkei was trading 1.46% lower.

On Wall Street, the main indices closed lower on Monday as investors were nervous ahead of key economic data expected later this week.

The S&P 500 index declined 0.16%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.09%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.59%.

Here are the key developments of Tuesday’s session that you need to know

As many as 3,211 stocks traded on the NSE on Tuesday. Out of this, 1,023 advanced and 2,096 declined, while 92 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards declines.

A total of 25 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 98 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 55 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 59 touched their lower circuit bands on Tuesday.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed companies stood at ₹465.33 lakh crore by the end of the session.

The volatility index India VIX slumped 1.82% to close at 10.06 levels.

The broader market also lagged, with the Nifty Midcap 100 slipping 0.83% to close at 59,710.80, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 0.92% to end at the 17,265.15 level.

In the midcap space, PB Fintech (-5.26%), Swiggy (-4.21%) and Bharat Dynamics (-3.61%) were the biggest losers. Weakness in Ola Electric (-8.51%), NBCC (-3.59%) and Redington (-3.18%) further weighed on the Nifty Smallcap 100.

Among sectors, Nifty Realty was the worst performer, sliding 1.29%, followed by Nifty IT and Nifty Metal, both down 0.84%. Nifty Oil & Gas declined 0.77%, while Nifty Pharma shed 0.56%.

Dragged by losses in Axis Bank (-5.12%), Punjab National Bank (-1.48%) and Federal Bank (-1.24%), the Nifty Bank index ended 0.72% lower at 59,034.60.

On the other hand, Nifty Consumer Durables gained 0.55%, while Nifty Media edged up 0.03%, making them the only sectoral gainers.

On Tuesday, 39 stocks declined on the NIFTY50 index, while 11 settled in green.

Axis Bank was the biggest laggard, tumbling 5.12%, followed by Eternal (-4.67%), JSW Steel (-2.66%), HCL Technologies (-1.91%) and Tata Steel (-1.78%).

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel (1.7%), Titan Company (1.65%), Tata Consumer Products (1.26%), Mahindra & Mahindra (0.58%) and Bajaj Auto (0.55%) were the top gainers on the 50-share index.