Stock Market Update: Nifty holds 26,000, Sensex down 420 pts as all sectors trade in red; IndiGo nosedives

Stock Market Update: Indian equities were under pressure on Monday, with key indices trading in the red at mid-day amid a lack of fresh domestic triggers. Selling pressure was visible across sectors, with financial, auto, FMCG and metal shares being the worst hit. Volatility gauge India VIX surged as much as 9.7 per cent to 11.32, last seen trading at 9.06 in afternoon deals.

At 1 PM, the BSE Sensex was at 85,246.18, down 466.19 points or 0.54 per cent, while the NSE Nifty50 slipped 175.95 points or 0.67 per cent to 26,010.5. About 886 shares advanced, 2,918 shares declined, and 189 shares remained unchanged, reflecting a broad-based correction.

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Among Sensex constituents, BEL, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Adani Ports, and Trent were leading the losses, whereas HCL, Tech Mahindra, TCS, HDFC Bank, and Infosys supported the index with gains.

Notable stock action:

SML Mahindra was quoting at Rs 3,470.00, up Rs 90.65 or 2.68 per cent. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 3,548.30 and a low of Rs 3,306.40, with volumes at 14,957 shares, a 153.92 per cent jump over its five-day average of 5,890 shares.

IndiGo shares plunged after the troubled private sector airline said its focus remains on restoring normal operations, as its flight disruptions entered a seventh straight day. Hundreds of daily cancellations by the airline have hurt the domestic air travel ecosystem.

IndiGo -- which expects its operations to return to normal by December 10 -- faces an extended deadline on Monday, when its top management must respond to a show cause notice issued by regulator DGCA. The stock plunged as much as 9.9 per cent to Rs 4,842.2 apiece on BSE.

Broader markets & sectors:

The Nifty MidCap index fell 1.5 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index declined 2.15 per cent. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Realty, PSU Bank, and Pharma were the worst hit, shedding up to 3.5 per cent as investors remained cautious amid muted domestic cues.

Currency update:

The rupee erased some intraday losses but was still trading lower at 90.17 per US dollar versus Friday’s close of 89.99, pressured by elevated crude prices and foreign fund outflows.