Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty Clock Worst Fall In Nearly Two Weeks

Equity markets opened with significant losses as Sensex and Nifty slipped more than half a percent in morning trade.

Indian equity benchmarks on Monday, 16 September, registered their worst fall since 3 September 2019.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.7 percent lower at 37,123.31 and the NSE Nifty 50 ended 0.65 percent lower at 11,003.50, BloombergQuint reported. The broader markets represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index closed 0.46 percent lower.

Earlier in the day, equity markets opened with significant losses as both Sensex and Nifty slipped more than half a percent in morning trade.

The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 180 points to open trading at 37,204.56, while the broader 50-share NSE Nifty broke under the psychological mark of 11,000.

Sensex extended its losses further and was down more than 250 points within the initial 15 minutes of trading on Monday.

All sectoral sub-indices wit the exception of Nifty Pharma and Nifty IT were trading in the red.

Equity markets will take cues from global developments and wholesale inflation data this week, while the third tranche of stimulus measures announced by the government may bolster sentiment, analysts said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday unveiled over Rs 70,000 crore of measures for exporters and the real estate sector, including about Rs 30,000 crore new spending in plans such as setting up of a stressed asset fund, as part of efforts to boost economic growth from a six-year low.

“The new measures announced by the FM send the clear message that the government is giving top priority to reviving growth in the economy. The measures relating to housing and export promotion like textiles will provide a big boost to employment too since these are labour intensive industries.

"The Rs 10,000 crore fund for providing last mile funding for stalled non-NPA, non-NCLT (housing) projects needs to be specially appreciated," said V K Vijayakumar Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

On the global front, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East ratcheted up after Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out drone attacks on two major oil plants in Saudi Arabia, affecting more than half of the Kingdom's output and putting upward pressure on global oil prices.