Markets end lower; Nifty slips below 16,650; Sensex drops over 700 points; auto, bank stocks underperform

2 Mar 2022 , 04:13 PM

Domestic equity markets crash as the geopolitical situation worsens due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis and sharp spike in crude oil prices further added pressure. The market sentiments also turned bleak as the government data on Monday showed economic growth slowed to 5.4 per cent in the October-December quarter against an 8.5 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.

The Nifty MidCap ended relatively flat while Nifty SmallCap was up by 0.5%.

Most sectoral indices ended in red except Nifty Media (+1.9%) and Nifty Metal (+4%), while Nifty Auto decreased the most at 3% followed by Nifty Pvt Bank (-2.4%) and Nifty Fin Service (-2.3%).

Maruti Sukuzi India was the top Nifty loser, followed by Dr Reddy’s, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints and Hero MotoCorp were also among the laggards. Hindalco, Tata Steel, PowerGrid and JSW Steel finished in the green.

The overall market breadth on BSE stood slightly positive as 1,709 shares advanced while 1,633 declined.