Weak overseas cues forced traders to remain sellers on blue chips: Bears tightened grip on broader markets

Bears tightened their grip on the broader markets and the benchmarks on Thursday as weak cues from overseas forced traders to remain sellers on blue chips. Realty, Banking and infrastructure stocks came under heavy selling pressure.

The Nifty plunged 122 points, or 1.44 percent, to 8,372 points, its lowest in one week. The index took support on the all-important 200-day moving average. The Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 6/43. Yes Bank, Punjab National Bank, Cairn, Vedanta and RIL were the top five stocks that lost ground on the Index while pharma stocks dominated trade for the second day. Lupin, ITC, BPCL, Dr. Reddy's and Sun Pharma were the top gainers on the Nifty.

Sun Pharma was the most active stock on the NSE with 710 crore rupees worth of shares changing hands. Lupin, Yes Bank and Axis Bank were in heavy demand as well on the exchange.

The bears were in control of the broader market. Major indices such as CNX 100, CNX 200, CNX 500, CNX Junior Nifty and CNX Mid Cap and CNX Small Cap Indexes closed with losses of 1.2-2.9 percent on Thursday.

The sectorial space was awash with red. The Bank Nifty plunged 420 points to 18,283 as traders remained sellers on the PSU banking basket. Therefore, the CNX PSU Bank Index dropped 3.4 percent, falling for the 2nd day. The trend was bearish in other indices too. The CNX Media, CNX Auto, CNX Energy, CNX Realty and CNX Finance lost between 1.7-4.1 percent on Thursday.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex lost 324 points, or 1.2 percent, to 27,607 points. BHEL, Tata Steel, Infosys and GAIL were among the top losers on the Index where Lupin, ITC and Dr. Reddy's rose smartly. The Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 5/25.

Axis Bank was the top traded counter with 69 crore rupees worth of shares changing hands on the BSE. Axis Bank is precariously perched at the 200-day moving average.

The wider market saw one of the worst Advance-Decline numbers in recent trade: Today, 2,071 stocks lost ground compared with just 756 that rose over their Wednesday's close.

The Bears were in total control of the futures and options space. The Nifty futures dropped 117 points to shut down at 8,388 points. Amtek Auto, IB Real Estate, JP Associates and Jindal Steel were among top losers while Lupin, ITC, Glenmark and BPCL post strong gains in the derivatives market. All 18 sectors ended up with losses. The Advance-Decline Ratio was at 17/145 in the futures and Options market.

Amtek Auto, Delta Corp, Om Metals, Thermax and 8K Miles figured on the NSE's top volume buzzers list and Chennai Petroleum, Auro Pharma, Abbott Labs and Kwality Ltd were the stocks that made fresh highs on the exchange on Thursday.

(Image credits: Indiatimes)