Markets tank on last day of FY22 amid selling in RIL and Infosys

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty pared their early gains to settle lower in choppy trade on the last day of the 2021-22 fiscal on Thursday mainly due to profit-taking in Reliance Industries, Infosys and HDFC Bank after a three-day rally.

Investors' wealth jumped over Rs 59.75 lakh crore in the 2021-22 fiscal, helped by a largely buoyant trend in domestic stocks.

Ending its three-day winning run, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 115.48 points or 0.20 per cent to settle at 58,568.51 amid the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts. During the day, it touched a high of 58,890.92 and a low of 58,485.79. The broader NSE Nifty declined by 33.50 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 17,464.75 with 30 of its stocks ending with losses.

For 2021-22 fiscal, the BSE Sensex jumped 9,059.36 points or 18.29 per cent while the Nifty rallied 2,774.05 points or 18.88 per cent.

Among the 30-share pack, Reliance Industries fell the most by 1.46 per cent. Wipro declined by 1.44 per cent, Dr Reddy's by 1.04 per cent and Sun Pharma by 0.60 per cent.

HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement and Infosys also ended down.

On the other hand, HUL rose the most by 1.66 per cent, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra by 1.59 per cent, IndusInd Bank by 0.93 per cent, Bharti Airtel by 0.80 per cent, ITC by 0.66 per cent and Titan by 0.5 per cent.

Axis Bank, which announced the acquisition of the India retail business of US-based Citi, spurted by 1.39 per cent.

In the previous trade, the 30-share BSE barometer index surged 740.34 points or 1.28 per cent to settle at 58,683.99. Similarly, the NSE Nifty climbed 172.95 points or 1 per cent to settle at 17,498.25.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap index gained 0.31 per cent and the midcap jumped 0.29 per cent.

The rupee advanced by 16 paise to close at 75.74 against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking strong Asian peers and a fall in global crude oil prices.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude tumbled 5.09 per cent to $107.68 per barrel on reports that the US was considering releasing a record 180 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves.