Sensex down 394 points, closes at 38,220

The stock market fell for the third day in a row. The decline in the US market was also reflected in the Indian market. The US stock market was under selling pressure after hitting an all-time high on August 19.

The Sensex was down 394 points and the Nifty 96 points. The Sensex ended at 38,220 points on August 20. The Sensex had gained over 38,402 points in the morning session. Similarly, the Nifty closed at 11,312 points.

Thirteen Nifty stocks gained while 37 stocks lost. The top five gainers were NTPC, Powergrid, ONGC, Coal India and BPCL. NTPC rose 6.87 per cent.

Energy stocks were the main gainers on the day. The Nifty Energy Index rose 1.98 per cent. Adani Transmission gained 10%; Tata Power was up 8%. Metal stocks also gained. Leading metal stocks Jindal Steel rose 3.25%. Metal stocks have been gaining steadily over the past few days.

Bank stocks, meanwhile, came under selling pressure. The Nifty Bank Index was down 1.29 per cent. Ten of the 11 stocks in the Nifty Bank index lost ground.

Tata Motors, HDFC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Wipro were the top five losers in the Nifty. Shares of Tata Motors, HDFC, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank fell more than 2 per cent.