Market Wrap: Sensex, Nifty fall for the second straight day; RIL, ITC among top drags; mid, smallcaps outperform

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Nifty ended in the red for the second consecutive session on Monday (July 24) with heavyweights, including ITC, Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank as the top drags. Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) and Kotak Mahindra Bank fell as their June quarter numbers failed to cheer Dalal Street while the shares of ITC dropped after the company announced its board has given in-principle approval for the demerger of its hotels business. Weak global cues ahead of the major central bank meetings also weighed on sentiment.

"With the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan meeting this week, the overall mood across global markets was tempered somewhat with caution setting in," reported Reuters. Sensex opened 55 points lower at 66,629.14 against the previous close of 66,684.26 and remained volatile during the session, taking a swing of 482 points. The index closed with a loss of 299 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 66,384.78 while the Nifty closed the day at 19,672.35, down 73 points, or 0.37 per cent.

Mid and smallcaps, however, managed to end in the green, outperforming the benchmarks. The BSE Midcap index closed with a gain of 0.30 per cent at 29,634.85 after hitting its fresh all-time high of 29,763.03. The BSE Smallcap index ended 0.07 per cent higher at 34,172.03 after hitting its fresh record high of 34,355.47.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose on hopes of Chinese stimulus and tight supply. Brent Crude traded one per cent higher near the $82 per barrel mark around 3:50 pm. (More to come)Get the best recommendations on Stocks, Mutual Funds and more based on your Risk profile!