Sensex, Nifty settle on a mixed note in volatile trade

The Sensex and Nifty stock benchmarks closed mixed in choppy trading on Monday amid weak trends in global markets.

Selling in Reliance Industries and Tata Advisory Services also played a spoiling role.

In thin trading, the 30-share BSE Sensex Index fell 9.37 points, or 0.01 percent, to settle at 62,970, marking its third day’s decline. During the day, it recorded the highest level at 63136.09 and the lowest at 62853.67. The NSE Nifty Index rose 25.70 points, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 18,691.20.

From the Sensex package, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra and HDFC were the major laggards.

The biggest gainers were Maruti, Tata Motors, Titan, Ultra Tech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra, Mahindra, State Bank of India and Indus Bank.

In Asian markets, Seoul ended higher, while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. Stock markets in Europe were trading lower. US markets closed in negative territory on Friday.

“The global market showed a negative bias as concerns about economic growth arose in view of the political instability in Russia. This instability led to an increase in oil prices, driven by fears of potential supply disruptions, given Russia’s status as one of the largest oil players,” said Vinod Nair, President Research at Geojit Financial Services, On the domestic front, the market saw limited downside as the pharmaceutical and automotive segments provided support.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped 0.45 percent to $74.18 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth ₹344.81 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the Sensex index fell 259.52 points, or 0.41 percent, to settle at 62,979.37 points, while the Nifty stock fell 105.75 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 18,665.50 points.