Sensex down 323 points; Nifty above 11,500

The stock market fell for the second day in a row. The Sensex was down 134 points and the Nifty was down 11 points. The trading started with gains but could not sustain it. The market experienced strong fluctuations in the afternoon.

The Nifty started trading above 70 points on the day. However, the Nifty did not return to 11,584 points at the start of trading. The market has seen an increase in the intensity of volatility. Meanwhile, Nifty fell to 11,446 points during the trading and closed above 11,500. The stock closed at 11,505.

The Sensex started trading above the psychological level of 39,000 points but dropped during the trading session. It fell to 38,653 points at one point during trading. It closed at 38,845 points.

Most of the 50 stocks in the Nifty traded higher on the day. Twenty-eight stocks gained while 22 lost. Pharma stocks were the main contributor to the market on the day. Leading pharma stocks Dr. Reddy’s gained 9.92 per cent and Cipla 7.11 per cent. The Nifty Pharma index gained 5 per cent.

Dr. Reddy’s is up 20 per cent this week. Dr. Reddy’s ‘Laboratories’ signing of agreement with Russia to test and distribute the vaccine for COVID caused the stock price to rise sharply. Pharma stocks such as Dr. Reddy’s, Cipla, Lupin, Divis Lab, Cadillac Healthcare and Biocon were at 52-week highs on the day.

Dr. Reddy’s Cipla, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and Mahindra & Mahindra were the top five gainers in the Nifty. Adani Ports and Bharti Airtel gained over 3 per cent each.

The biggest losers were HDFC Bank, Sree Cements, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Maruti Suzuki. HDFC Bank fell 2.28 per cent.

Bank stocks continued to decline. Similarly, the Nifty Banking Index lost 1.30 per cent. Bandan Bank, IDFC First Bank, HDFC Bank and Punjab National Bank lost over two per cent.