Stock market today: Sensex ends 548 points lower, Nifty at 22,363

The Sensex closed at 71,924.68, down 547.65 points.

The Nifty 50 closed at 22,363.35, down 157.10 points.

ITC, Tech Mahindra, L&T and Hindalco were among the top Nifty losers.

Dr Reddy’s, Bajaj Auto and Bharat Electronics were among the gainers.

Media, realty and auto indices ended higher.

Both indices had opened higher, with the Sensex up about 299 points at the open and the Nifty up about 73 points, according to India TV and Analytics Insight.

The decline followed Friday’s rebound, which had ended a prolonged losing streak, according to HDFC Sky.

Market breadth was nearly even, with 2,187 stocks advancing, 2,066 declining and 235 unchanged on the BSE, according to HDFC Sky.

The Nifty Midcap index was flat, while the Nifty Smallcap index rose 1.4%.

Among sectors, Nifty Media rose 4.6%, Realty gained 1%, Auto rose 0.9% and Pharma rose 0.3%, according to HDFC Sky.

IT, metal, private bank, PSU bank and FMCG indices each fell between 0.4% and 1%, according to the same report.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, ITC, Tech Mahindra, L&T, Hindalco and Hindustan Unilever were among the top losers, with falls of about 2% to 3%.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Bharat Electronics and BSE Ltd were among the top gainers, according to HDFC Sky.

The rupee opened stronger, about 94 to 98 paise higher at around 95.75 to 95.77 per dollar against Friday’s close of 96.73, according to India TV and Analytics Insight.

HDFC Sky said the early recovery in the rupee did not translate into sustained buying in equities, and no closing rupee level was given in the reports reviewed.

Over the weekend, the Reserve Bank of India directed oil companies to source their dollar needs away from the spot market and tightened rules on foreign exchange hedging, according to HDFC Sky.

BSE building, Mumbai (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0