SENSEX plunges over 1000 points, NIFTY50 falls below 25,900-mark, Nifty Metal shines over 1.5% to hit fresh record high

Indian equity benchmark indices opened the session with a gap-down, and losses have deepened as the day progressed. By midday, the NIFTY50 index had fallen below the 25,900 mark, down by 1.09%, while the SENSEX dropped over 1000 points t0 84,569 level. This sharp decline marks the steepest single-day drop for the NIFTY50 in the last 16 trading sessions. Nifty Bank also recorded its sharpest decline since July 6, falling by 1.35%. Meanwhile, the India VIX surged by 7%, indicating heighted market volatility.

The NIFTY50 index exhibited negative market breadth, with 34 stocks declining against 15 advancing. Overall market breadth remained weak, as 1,499 stocks declined compared to 780 stocks that advanced. Both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices also faced selling pressure, falling by 0.40% and 0.14%, respectively.

It was a sea of red, with all the sectoral indices trading lower, except for Nifty Metal, which surged over 1.5% to hit a record high. The Nifty Metal index emerged as the best-performing sector in September, gaining 8.8%, driven by China’s recent stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing the housing market and increasing money supply to spur growth. Metal companies' earnings depend on how well the Chinese economy, especially its heavy industries and estate & infra sector is doing. A favorable commodity cycle in metal companies is expected, if the real estate & infra sector does revive. On the other hand, Nifty Realty (-1.87%) and Nifty Auto (-1.66%), were the major losers among the sectoral indices.