Stock market lost early gains, Sensex fell 38 points, Nifty also closed below 16,300

Stock Market: After losing early gains in volatile trade, the local stock market closed with an almost stable trend on Monday. The Sensex ended with a loss of 38 points due to heavy selling in the shares of metal companies. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 37.78 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 54,288.61 points. During the day’s trading, it once went up to a high of 54,931.30 points and came down to a low of 54,191.55 points. The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also closed at 16,214.70, down 51.45 points, or 0.32 per cent.

Biggest fall in Tata Steel

Among the Sensex companies, Tata Steel’s stock was the biggest loser at 12.53 per cent. Shares of UltraTech Cement, ITC, Power Grid, HDFC, HDFC Bank, HCL Technologies and Reliance Industries were also among the losers. On the other hand, shares of M&M, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints and Kotak Mahindra Bank rose. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities said, Nifty once again closed in the red after losing early gains. Metals-related companies saw heavy sell-off after the weekend imposed export duty on iron ore and some steel products.

Strength in global market

In other Asian markets, China’s Shanghai Composite, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei were up, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined. European markets were trading with gains in the afternoon session, while US markets closed with a mixed trend on Friday. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.15 per cent to $113.8 per barrel. According to stock market data, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 1,265.41 crore on Friday.