Sensex closes 1,203.18 points down, Nifty settles at 8253.80; Hero MotoCorp, Grasim, Bajaj Auto gain

New Delhi: On the first day of Financial Year 2020-2021, stock markets tumble on Wednesday (April 1) with the Sensex closing 1,203.18 points down or 4.08% at 28265.31, while the broader Nifty ended 343.95 points down or 4.00% at 8253.80. Major gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp, Grasim, Bajaj Auto, and Bajaj Finance while Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, and Infosys were among major losers.

In the afternoon trade, benchmark indices were trading lower with the Sensex down 1,316.09 points or 4.47% at 28152.40, while the Nifty was also down 377.95 points or 4.40% at 8219.80. 

At 11.15 am, Sensex was trading at 28,349.09, lower by 1,119.40 points or 3.80 per cent from the previous close of 29,468.49, while the Nifty50 was trading at 8,280.95, lower by 316.80 or 3.68 per cent from its previous close. 

Heavy selling pressure on the banking and financial stocks pulled the indices down. Among the Sensex stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and IndusInd Bank lost the most, while Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto were the only gainers.

During early hours today, equity benchmark indices traded lower during early hours as the new financial year (2020-21) kicked in with investors focused on rising coronavirus infections and its impact on the Indian economy. 

At 10:15 am, the BSE Sensex was down by 782 points or 2.65 per cent to 28,686 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 206 points or 2.39 per cent at 8,392. Except for Nifty FMCG and realty, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the negative terrain with Nifty private bank down by 2.6 per cent, financial service by 2.4 per cent, auto by 1.9 per cent and IT by 1.8 per cent.

Among stocks, private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank slipped by 8.5 per cent to Rs 1,185.45 per share. Adani Ports dropped by 4 per cent, Infosys by 3.4 per cent and State Bank of India by 3.3 per cent. The other major losers were Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Infratel, Titan, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra. However, Britannia, IndusInd Bank, GAIL and Cipla traded with a positive bias.

Meanwhile, Asian markets were mostly up today after suffering a diabolical first quarter, while traders weigh trillions of dollars in global stimulus with the prospect of lengthy lockdowns as the coronavirus continues its deadly sweep across the planet.

In early trade, Shanghai edged up 0.1 percent and Sydney rallied more than three percent, with Seoul flat. Taipei added 0.2 percent, Manila gained 0.8 percent and Wellington one percent. However, Tokyo went into the break down 0.9 percent after a closely watched survey by the Bank of Japan showed confidence among the country's major businesses had fallen into negative territory for the first time since 2013.

Hong Kong lost 0.6 percent, with HSBC plunging more than six percent after scrapping its dividend and warning of a severe impact on revenues.

While there remains a lot of uncertainty on markets, and further turmoil is forecast, the past week has seen some stability return to trading floors, thanks to the massive stimulus pledges. Most indexes across the planet lost around a fifth of their value over the past three months.

Oil was flat, as Saudi Arabia began ramping up output of the black gold as it presses on with a price war with Russia. However, there was some support after Trump said the two would hold talks, as he frets over the hit to US energy firms from the plunge in the crude market.

(With Agency Inputs)