Market Wrap, Sept 15: SENSEX dips 119 points, NIFTY50 at 25,069 on pharma, IT sell-off; Cipla, M&M top losers

The Indian equity benchmark indices snapped their five-day rally and settled lower on Monday, September 15, weighed down by losses in pharma, IT, and auto stocks.

The investors also remained wary ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut decision this week. The Fed’s two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will conclude on Wednesday, September 17, with markets largely pricing in a 25-basis-point rate cut amid easing concerns over the US labour market.

On Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth ₹129.58 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,556.02 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

The foreign investors have remained net sellers in the September series so far, offloading shares worth ₹9,245 crore. Conversely, the DIIs have maintained a strong buying momentum, acquiring shares valued at ₹27,147 crore.

Globally, Asian shares ended mixed on Monday as markets awaited the US Fed’s upcoming rate decision.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.38% higher, while South Korea's KOSPI gained 0.35%. The Shanghai Composite, however, fell 0.26%.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq closed at a record high close on Friday in a mixed trading session. The S&P 500 slipped 0.05% to end at 6,584.29, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.59% to 45,834.22, while the Nasdaq rose 0.45% to settle at 22,141.10.

As many as 3,165 stocks traded on the NSE on Monday. Out of this, only 1,714 advanced, and 1,357 declined, while 94 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicated that the market breadth was in favour of advances.

A total of 91 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 43 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 129 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 32 touched their lower circuit bands on Monday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹456.91 lakh crore at the end of the session.

The volatility index India VIX rose 2.71% to end at 10.40 levels.

Nifty Pharma (-0.64%), Nifty IT (-0.58%), Nifty Media (-0.45%), Nifty Auto (-0.39%), and Nifty Consumer Durables (-0.16%) emerged as the biggest sectoral losers. In contrast, Nifty Realty (2.41%), Nifty PSU Bank (0.60%), Nifty Oil & Gas (0.30%), and Nifty Metal (0.07%) led the gains.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.76% to end at 18,127 levels, while the Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at the 58,486.10 level, rising 0.44%.

Cipla was the biggest losing stock, declining 1.75%, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra (-1.66%), Asian Paints (-1.63%), Shriram Finance (-1.22%) and Dr Reddy’s (-1.19%).

On the other hand, Jio Financial Services (1.38%), Bajaj Finance (0.84%), Eternal (0.68%), UltraTech Cement (0.40%), and Bajaj Auto (0.34%) emerged as the top gainers.