The Sensex is down 105 points on mixed global indications; Adani Green is up 6%, and HDFC is up 2%

The wild ride in equity markets continued on Thursday, exacerbated by the weekly F&O expiry, as investors kept an eye on geopolitical tensions in eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine. During the day, the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 indices oscillated within a 700-point and 200-point zone, respectively, before ending the session in the red.

The Sensex index ended the day at 57,892, down 105 points, while the Nifty50 index ended the day at 17,305, down 17 points.

The biggest large-cap gainers today were HDFC (up 1.7 percent), Reliance Industries (1.2 percent), and Power Grid (0.56 percent). Following them were HDFC, L&T, TechM, ITC, and ITC.

The major drags on the downside were ICICI Bank (down 2.3%), Axis Bank and Ultratech Cement (both down 2%), and IndusInd Bank (down 1.3%). Other laggards included Neslte India, SBI, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, and Sun Pharma.

The BSE MidCap index declined 0.22 percent, while the BSE SmallCap index fell 0.67 percent in broader markets.

Individually, shares of FSN e-Commerce Ventures, the parent company of beauty e-tailer Nykaa, fell 9% on the BSE to a new low of Rs 1,371.35 in intra-day trade on Thursday.

Apart from that, Indigo Paints’ stock reached a fresh low of Rs 1,788.80 in intraday trade on Thursday, down 3%. They’ve dropped 8% in a week since the company released its December quarter (Q3FY22) earnings. The S&P BSE Sensex, on the other hand, was down 1% during the same time period.

On the plus side, shares of the Adani Group of firms soared up to 8% on the BSE on Thursday, in a market that was otherwise range-bound due to heavy volumes.

Individual companies such as Adani Green, Adani Transmission, Adani Power, Siemens, JSW Energy, and ABB Ltd rallied up to 6% today as the BSE Power Index climbed 2% on the bourses.

Banking equities, on the other hand, fell in trade, with the BSE Bankex index down 1%.

Markets throughout the world

In early trade, the Stoxx 600 index in Europe stayed around the flat line, with cars up 0.9 percent. The FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom fell 0.7%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.26 percent, and the DAX in Germany remained unchanged.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.8%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5 percent, and Australia’s ASX rose 0.16 percent.