Market / Sensex ends 6-day gaining streak & ends 839 points lower; Nifty below 11,400

Mumbai: Domestic stock markets gave up all the day's gains in a volatile session on Monday, as investors' focus shifted to a flare-up between India and China on the border, from the rising cases of COVID-19. The S&P BSE Sensex index tanked 1,614 points from an intraday high of 40,010.17 to fall below 39,000-mark and The NSE Nifty 50 benchmark touched an intraday low of 11,325.85 at the weakest level of the day, having risen to as high as 11,794.25.

The Sensex ended at 38,628.29, down 839.02 points - or 2.13 per cent - from its previous close, and the Nifty closed 260.10 points - or 2.23 per cent - lower at 11,387.50.

The markets erased intraday gains after the government said Chinese troops "carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo" near Pangong Tso lake on Saturday night but they were blocked by Indian soldiers.

Investors also booked profits as they awaited official data on India's GDP due at 5:30 pm. Reports suggest that the country's GDP growth would be worst among the G20 nations.

Economists predict the economy to contract 18.3 per cent in the quarter ended June 30, which would be its worst performance in at least eight years, according to a poll by news agency Reuters.

The data will fully capture the damage caused by COVID-19, as the country continues to ease restrictions imposed in late March to curb its spread. The country's GDP had expanded 3.1 per cent in the January-March period.

"Markets were overbought and at euphoric levels. Heightened geopolitical tensions between India and China after the Indian soldiers blocked Chinese troops near Pangong Tso lake and reports that India's economic growth will be worst among the G20 nations are spooking the investor sentiment," AK Prahakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, told NDTV.

On Dalal Street, selling pressure was visible across sectors as all the 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended lower led by the S&P BSE Realty index's nearly 5 per cent fall. Banking, auto, capital goods, power, metal, basic materials, pharma, oil & gas and telecom indexes also fell between 2-4.5 per cent.

Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed selling pressure as the S&P BSE MidCap index dived 3.79 per cent and S&P BSE SmallCap index plunged 4.37 per cent.

Forty eight out of 50 shares in Nifty 50 index ended lower. Sun Pharma was top Nifty loser, the stock dropped 7 per cent to close at ₹ 515. State Bank of India, Cipla, Bajaj Finserv, Zee Entertainment, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Finance, Shree Cements, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hindalco also fell between 4.5-6 per cent.