Markets snap three-day winning streak; Reliance Industries underperform

31 Mar 2022 , 03:55 PM

Equity benchmark indices snapped a three-day winning streak as March futures and option (F&O) contracts expired on the last day of the current fiscal year. Investors booked profits in recent outperforming index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Larsen & Toubro as March futures and option contracts expired on the last day of the current fiscal year.

For the financial year 2021-22, the Sensex surged 18.3 per cent and the Nifty 50 index climbed 19 per cent.

The Sensex ended 115 points lower at 58,568 and the Nifty 50 index slipped 33 points to close at 17,465. However, midcap and smallcap shares finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.34 per cent lower and small-cap climbed 0.69 per cent.

Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare Index underperformed the index by falling as much as 1.17 per cent and 1.29 per cent, respectively.

JSW Steel, Britannia, M&M, Axis Bank, HUL, Tata Consumer Products, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp, and IndusInd Bank were among the top gainers on the Nifty. On the flip side, are Hindalco, Divis Labs, Apollo Hospitals, RIL, Wipro, Eicher Motors, Dr Reddy’s Labs, and Cipla.

On the international front, European stocks were mixed, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 hovering fractionally below the flatline.