Sensex Nosedives 1,190 Points, Nifty Settles Near 16,600; 4 Reasons Behind the Crash

Mon, 20 Dec Closing

   Previous Close   

   Pre-Open   

   SGX Nifty   

   10:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

Indian share markets witnessed negative trading activity throughout the day today and ended deep in the red.

Benchmark indices extended Friday's losses as the market sentiment was dented amid fears of a severe-than-expected economic impact owing to the Omicron variant, recently announced hawkish policy stances by global central bankers and persistent FIIs selling.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by points (down 2.1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by points (down 2.2%).

Cipla and Hindustan Unilever were among the top gainers today.

BPCL and Tata Motors, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 16,660, down by 362 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended down by 3.4% and 3.3%, respectively.

On the sectoral front, finance stocks, oil & gas stocks and realty stocks were among the hardest hit.

US stock futures are trading deep in the red today with the Dow Futures trading down by 997 points.

The rupee is trading at 75.90 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.3% at Rs 48,427 per 10 grams.

Here's What Spooked the Market Today

Omicron scare: India's Omicron count rose to 151 on Sunday after Maharashtra recently reported six more cases.

Globally, the United Kingdom reported over 12,000 confirmed cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Netherlands went into a complete lockdown on Sunday till at least January-mid and Germany tightened travel restrictions for people coming from Britain.

These steps have soured sentiment on the Street as they pose a potential threat to the economic recovery.

Weak Asian markets: Shares in Asia-Pacific ended today, with China slashing its benchmark lending rate for the first time in more than one-and-a-half years.

China today announced a cut in its one-year loan prime rate from 3.85% to 3.8% - the first such move since April 2020.

Asian stock markets ended on a negative note today.

The Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite ended down by 1.9% and 1.1%, respectively. The Nikkei ended down by 2.1% in today's session.

Policy tightening: A major reason that has caused the spiraling effect on the equity markets in Asia is the hawkish stance by the central banks world-wide.

Since the Fed expressed its views on aggressively retreating from its pandemic-led stimulus, several central banks have raised rates to fight inflation in their respective countries.

The bank of England on Thursday became the first major central bank to raise interest rates since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Norway raised rates for the second time this year on 16 December despite an expansion of Covid curbs, while Russia raised its policy rates for the seventh time this year on 17 December.

New Zealand had also raised its interest rate last month, and Canada has suggested that it will start doing the same soon.

Higher rates in the developed markets lead to FII outflow from emerging markets as the interest rate differential reduces, making the latter less appealing for investors.

Persistent selling by FIIs: The tightening of the policies by the central banks in developed markets has resulted in unabated selling by FIIs in India and other emerging markets.

In December alone, the FIIs have net sold over Rs 260 bn in the cash market, the highest monthly selling this year. On 17 December, they net sold Rs 20.7 bn in the cash market.

Speaking of stock markets, Vijay Bhambwani talks about the US dollar getting stronger and how you can profit from its rise, in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily.

The US dollar has been getting stronger recently. The stock market sees this as a negative but this need not be the case. As per Vijay, there are ways to profit from the dollar's rally.

Want to know how? Tune in to the below video to find out:

In news from the auto sector, Eicher Motors was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of Eicher Motors, the parent company of motorcycle maker Royal Enfield, declined 4%today as the subsidiary announced it is recalling 26,300 units of its Classic 350 motorcycles to rectify an issue with a brake part.

The correction in the automaker's stock comes on a day when benchmarks indices Sensex and Nifty were deep in the red as concerns about the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and its impact on the global economy have resurfaced.

Meanwhile, mid-sized motorcycle maker Royal Enfield has said its technical team has discovered a potential issue in one of the parts - the brake reaction bracket attached to the motorcycle swing arm and used specifically on the 2021 single-channel ABS and rear drum brake Classic 350 motorcycles.

Under specific riding conditions, it was discovered that exceptionally higher braking load applied on the rear brake pedal could lead to potential damage of the reaction bracket, which could further lead to unusual braking noise, and potential deterioration of braking efficiency in extreme conditions, it added.

Therefore, as a precautionary measure, Royal Enfield has decided to proactively call in close to 26,300 single-channel ABS and rear-drum-brake enabled Classic 350 models, produced between 1 September and 5 December 2021, and reinforce the brake reaction bracket of the swing arm for all units.

Earlier in May, Royal Enfield had recalled around 2,36,966 units of Classic, Bullet, and Meteor models in India and various international markets to replace defective ignition coil.

Eicher Motors share price ended the day down by 2.3% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the realty sector...

Shriram Properties Makes a Tepid Debut on the Bourses

Shriram Properties shares made a weak debut at BSE and NSE today. The realty stock opened at Rs 90 per share levels on NSE, which is 23.7% lower from its issue price of Rs 113 to Rs 118 per equity share.

A day ahead of its listing on the bourses, shares of the south India-based real estate player were trading at a discount of Rs 10-15 in the grey market, signaling towards a muted listing.

In 3-day bidding from 8 December to 10 December 2021, Shriram Properties IPO was subscribed 4.60 times whereas its retail portion was subscribed 12.72 times.

The public issue was subscribed 1.85 times in the QIB category while it was subscribed 4.82 times in the NII category.

It raised Rs 6 bn via the initial stake sale, that included a fresh issue of Rs 2.5 bn and an offer for sale (OFS) worth Rs 3.5 bn. The company had trimmed the OFS size from Rs 5.5 bn, reducing the issue size.

Shriram Properties is a part of the Shriram Group and is one of the leading residential real estate development companies in South India. The company primarily focuses on the mid-market and affordable housing segments.

Shriram Properties share price ended the day down by 16% on the BSE.

Speaking of stocks, here is an illustration of the four phases that a stock goes through during its life cycle. The cycle repeats itself after the stock goes through all these for stages.

This cycle defines everything in markets. If you can master this cycle, then nothing can stop you from making huge profits.

If you're interested to know how a stock's life cycle can offer you the opportunity to make money in every phase, you can read about it in one of the recent editions of Profit Hunter: One Cycle That Defines Everything in the Markets

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary

Top Gainers TodayTop Gainers over 1-WeekTop Gainers over 1-MonthTop Gainers over 1-YearTop Gainers over 3-YrsTop Gainers over 5-YrsTop Losers TodayTop Losers over 1-WeekTop Losers over 1-MonthTop Losers over 1-YearTop Losers over 3-YrsTop Losers over 5-YrsOnly BuyersOnly SellersMost Active StocksMost Popular Stocks52 Week High Stocks52 Week Low Stocks

INDICESBSE (Rs 0 to 1)BSE (Rs 1 to 2)BSE (Rs 2 to 4)BSE (Rs 4 to 10)BSE (Rs 10 to 20)BSE (Above Rs 20)BSE - AllBSE-30BSE-100BSE-200BSE-500BSE AutoBSE BankexBSE Capital GoodsBSE Consumer DurablesBSE FMCGBSE HealthcareBSE ITBSE MetalBSE Oil & GasBSE PSUBSE TeckBSE RealtyBSE PowerBSE A GroupBSE B GroupBSE Mid-CapBSE Small-CapBSE Basic MaterialsBSE Consumer DiscretionaryBSE IndustrialsBSE UtilitiesBSE Sensex 50BSE Sensex Next 50BSE Bharat 22BSE 150 MidCapBSE 250 SmallCapBSE 250 LargeMidCapBSE 400 MidSmallCapBSE AllCapBSE LargeCapBSE SmallCap SelectBSE 100 LargeCap TMCBSE InfraBSE ManufacturingBSE CPSEBSE Private BankBSE Diversified FinancialsBSE MomentumBSE Low VolatilityBSE QualityBSE Enhanced ValueBSE Divident StabilityS&P BSE IPOBSE SMEIPOBSE 100 ESGBSE CarbonexBSE GreenexNSE (Rs 0 to 10)NSE (Rs 10 to 20)NSE (Above Rs 20)NSE - AllNSE-50NSE ITNSE Nifty Midcap 50NSE JR. NiftyNSE Bank NiftyNIFTY Next 50NIFTY 100NIFTY 200NIFTY 500NIFTY MidCap 100NIFTY SmallCap 250NIFTY SmallCap 50NIFTY SmallCap 100NIFTY LargeMidCap 250NIFTY MidSmallCap 400NIFTY AutoNIFTY Consumer DurablesNIFTY FinanceNIFTY FMCGNIFTY MediaNIFTY MetalNIFTY PharmaNIFTY Private BankNIFTY PSU BankNIFTY RealtyNIFTY Oil & GasNIFTY SME EmergeNIFTY CommoditiesNIFTY CPSENIFTY EnergyNIFTY India ConsumptionNIFTY InfraNIFTY MNCNIFTY PSENIFTY Serv SectorNIFTY100 Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap 150 Quality 50NIFTY50 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Low Volatility 30NIFTY100 Alpha 30NIFTY Alpha 50NIFTY Dividend Opportunities 50NIFTY High Beta 50NIFTY Low Volatility 50NIFTY200 Quality 30NIFTY 500 Value 50NIFTY 100 Quality 30SECTORSAgricultureAirlinesAluminiumAsset Management CompaniesAutomobilesAuto AncillariesBanks (Private)Banks (PSU)BankingCementChemicalsDefenceDiagnosticsDronesEngineeringElectric VehicleElectric Vehicle BatteryEnergy SourcesESGEthanolFertilizersFintechFMCGFoodGreen HydrogenHotelsInfrastructureInsuranceInvestment and FinanceInvITIT (Large)IT (Others)LogisticsMediaMetalMiningIndia's Big Tech StocksIndian PharmaMNC PharmaPSUPaintPaperPlasticPowerRating AgenciesReal EstateREITsRenewable EnergyRetailingSemiconductorShippingSteelSugarSupply ChainTelecomTextilesTravel Support Services

10 results 25 results 50 results 100 results All results

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers