Sensex Ends Down Over 300 Points; Asian Paints, RIL, Infosys Top Losers

The benchmark indices ended in the red for the third successive day, although they did manage to recover some lost ground in the last hour of trade, amid heightened volatility. The Sensex had nosedived more than 700 points at the lowest point of the day in noon trading before ending at 60,923, lower by 336 points or 0.55 per cent and the NSE Nifty closed at 18,178, down 88 points or 0.48 per cent. 

The broader markets also ended in the red, albeit off the lows of the day; the BSE midcap index shed 0.2 per cent and smallcap index ended lower by 0.6 per cent.

On the stock-specific front, Asian Paints, RIL and Infosys had a rough session of trade. Asian Paints tumbled 4 per cent to top the losers list on the BSE after posting a 29 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 605.2 crore in the September 2021 quarter as against Rs 852 crore in the same quarter last year. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries lost 2 per cent ahead of its September quarter results scheduled post market hours on Friday. Dr Reddy's, Tata Steel and TCS were other significant losers in the BSE pack. 

On the other hand, banking and financial stocks saw buying interest. Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top gainer on the Sensex, surging more than 6 per cent to a new 52-week high of Rs 2,151. ICICI Bank, HDFC and Axis Bank also jumped around 1-2 per cent each on the BSE.

The market breadth was weak. Out of 3,425 shares traded on the BSE, there are 1,588 advancing shares as against 1,690 declines.