India's benchmark stock indices ended lower on Monday as last-hour selloffs erased all morning gains, led by losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd.
The Nifty settled 0.38%, or 82.10 points, lower at 21,771.70, while the Sensex fell 0.49%, or 354.21 points, to end at 71,731.42. The Nifty gained as much as 0.51% and the Sensex 0.42%.
The zone of 21,640–21,700 will act as a strong support for the Nifty, while the upside seems to be capped at 21,960. It is too premature to say that if the index violates the support zone, then the ongoing correction may extend to 21,350 to form a bullish cypher pattern, said Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares.
Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., and UPL Ltd. dragged the Nifty 50 lower.
Meanwhile, those of Tata Motors Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Coal India Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., and Power Grid Corp. Of India Ltd. cushioned the fall.
Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note Nifty Energy, Nifty Auto, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty Pharma gaining over 1%. Nifty FMCG fell the most.
Broader markets ended lower on Monday. The S&P BSE Midcap settled 0.20% lower and the S&P BSE Smallcap index ended 0.16% lower on Monday.
On BSE, 12 sectors out of 20 declined while eight rose. The S&P BSE Telecommunication declined the most among sectoral indices.
Market breadth was skewed in favour of the sellers. Around 2,129 stocks fell, 1,820 stocks rose, and 148 remained unchanged on BSE.
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