Nifty nosedives to 3-month low; small & mid-caps fall sharply

Domestic equities came under pressure on Monday amid global turmoil, witnessing broad base selling.

Nifty nosedived 261 points (-1 per cent) to close at a three-month low of 19,281.75, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The Senzex fell 825.74 points or 1.26 per cent to close at 64,571.88.

Broader markets declined sharply with Nifty mid-cap 100 and small-cap 100 down 2.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively. Among sectors, metals, PSU bank and realty were the top losers, down 2-3 per cent each, Khemka said.

Fear of regional conflict in the West Asia and worries over more rate hikes by the US Fed for an extended period were the major cause of concern in the market. Even the earning season has been mixed so far, thus not providing resilience to the market, he added.

Nifty, taking cues from the global market, concluded the day on a negative note with the majority of sectoral indices also doing so.

The Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Metal and Nifty Reality were the top beaten down sectors, down by 3.77 per cent, 3.26 per cent and 2.49 per cent, respectively, said Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio.

The tensions in West Asia heightened market volatility, adding to the unpredictability that stressed the global market and affected the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note, which surged above 5 per cent on Monday, passing the landmark reached in July 2007.

Even though oil prices fell on Monday, they stayed over the $90 threshold at $91.92 a barrel, while Brent crude futures dropped 24 cents, or 0.26 per cent, Vidwani said.

LTIMindtree, Adani Enterprises, Hindalco Industries, Adani Ports, and UPL were among Nifty's worst losers, while M&M and Bajaj Finance were among its biggest gainers.