Domestic equity benchmarks end lower amid volatility; Sensex drops 66 points, Nifty 50 closes at 11,132

Domestic equity markets ended with small losses after a volatile session on Wednesday, September 23, 2020. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 65.66 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 37,668.42. The Nifty 50 lost 21.80 points or 0.20 per cent, but managed to hold the 11,000-mark, and closed at 11,131.85. However, the Bank Nifty gained 39.40 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 21,178.50.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1226 shares rose and 1406 shares fell. On Nifty 50, 19 stocks advanced and 31 fell. Axis Bank (up 2.43 per cent), Coal India (up 2.38 per cent), GAIL (up 1.72 per cent), HDFC Bank (up 1.31 per cent) and Hindustan Unilever (up 1.27 per cent) were the major gainers on Nifty 50 block, while the losers included Bharti Infratel (down 8.26 per cent), Bharti Airtel (down 8.16 per cent), Tata Steel (3.47 per cent), Zee Entertainment (down 3.25 per cent) and IndusInd Bank (down 2.95 per cent).

The Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reportedly in a prepared testimony has said the central bank remains committed to supporting the economy through its tools for as long as it takes. He also noted that many economic indicators show marked improvement, though the path forward continues to be highly uncertain.

The US existing home sales jumped 2.4 per cent to an annual rate of 6.00 million in August after skyrocketing by 24.7 per cent to a rate of 5.86 million in July, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday. With the sharp increase, existing home sales reached their highest level since December of 2006.

In Europe, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new restrictions that are likely to last six months and told people to work from home, if possible. The announcement comes after a surge in Coronavirus cases in the country, with further 4,368 daily cases reported on Monday.