Sensex down 250 pts, at 78,500; Nifty at 23,900; Financials, Health drag

Indian benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 declined further, amid mixed global cues.

At 12 PM, the BSE Sensex was down 422.83 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 78,359.41, while the Nifty 50 was at 23,866.10, down 129.25 points, or 0.54 per cent.

Among the 30 BSE Sensex constituent stocks, less than half were trading in the red. Gains were led by JSW Steel (up 1.62 per cent), Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HCLTech, and Tata Motors, while losses were capped by Adani Ports (down 1.39 per cent), followed by ITC, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank.

Similarly on the Nifty 50, 31 out of the 50 stocks were trading in the green. Gains were led by JSW Steel (up 1.79 per cent), Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, HCLTech, and Tata Motors, while losses were capped by Reliance Industries (down 0.62 per cent), followed by Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, and Shriram Finance.

Across sectors, the Metal index (up 1.15 per cent), followed by the Auto, Pharma, IT, PSU Bank, Healthcare and Consumer Durables indices were trading with gains, while the NIfty Bank and Financial Services, along with FMCG, Media, Realty and OMC indices were trading in the red.

In the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 0.18 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 was down 0.04 per cent.

Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 had ended the week’s first trading session with deep cuts, each down over 1 per cent at close.

The BSE Sensex shed as much as 941.88 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 78,782.24. Similarly, NSE Nifty50 ended lower by 309 points or 1.27 per cent to settle at 23,995.35.

The fear index, India (VIX), which measures the volatility in the markets, ended higher by 5.01 per cent at 16.70 points.

Broader indices also ended in red, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 ending lower by 1.31 per cent, and 1.98 per cent, respectively.

All the sectoral indices ended in the red, too, with Nifty OMCs, Realty, and Media ending down by over 2 per cent each, followed by Financials, FMCG, Metal, Private Bank, and Consumer Durables, all ending lower by over 1 per cent each.

Apart from that, the latest correction in the Indian markets has led to a sharp decline in equity valuations in the country. The trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of the benchmark BSE Sensex declined to 22.9x on Monday, the lowest in the past 12 months and down nearly 10 per cent from a high earnings multiple of 25.2x at the end of March this year. This valuation is nearly 5 per cent lower than its 10-year average valuation of 24.1x, which is not common.