Benchmark indices give up gains amid rising volatility, FII selling

Domestic equities gave up their gains amid rising volatility and continuous selling by FIIs on Monday.

While the Sensex edged up 17.39 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 73,895.54, the Nifty declined 33.15 points or 0.15 per cent to close at 22,442.70.

In April, FIIs sold Rs 39,000 crore worth of stocks amid uncertain global macros, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

"Further, the India VIX surged by over 70 per cent in the last eight trading sessions from around 10 to its 52-week high near 17, indicating increasing nervousness among investors due to the ongoing global uncertainties and the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections next month," he said. "Hence, markets are likely to remain in a broader range with stock-specific action in the near term," he added.

The Nifty witnessed a gradual decline after opening higher amid high volatility on Monday. Sectorwise, it was mixed with buying seen in realty, IT, and FMCG stocks.

The PSUs, especially banking and NBFCs, were under pressure after the RBI proposed stricter lending rules, Khemka said.

Neeraj Sharma, AVP, Technical and Derivatives Research, at Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates, said the domestic benchmark indices were under selling pressure on Monday, following a steep selloff last week, aided by losses in media, consumer durables, and PSU sectors.

The domestic indices traded in a range-bound manner, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. "The broader indices also witnessed major selling pressure due to valuation concerns and profit-booking," he added.

"Today, the benchmark indices witnessed lacklustre activity the Nifty ends 33 points lower while the Sensex was up by 17 points," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.