On a day when market breadth was heavily tilted in favour of declines, few names stood out.
Shakti Pump was among the biggest gainers, jumping 20 per cent after the government announced a plan to help farmers set up 35 lakh pumps.Insurance, realty and cigarette stocks took the biggest knock.
ITC and Godfrey Philips plunged 7 per cent each thanks to excise hike on tobacco and cigarettes.
SBI Life and ICICI Pru Life plunged over 10 per cent as new income-tax laws made insurance buying less attractive.DLF, Prestige Estates and Godrej Properties crashed over 8 per cent each as the Finance Minister did not offer any sops as expected.BSE flagship Sensex slumped 988 points to 39,735 while its NSE counterpart Nifty fell 300 points to 11,661.The Budget was below par, considering the market had very high expectations from the government.
The changes in income-tax rules have come with riders of giving up exemptions which disappointed the market, with the insurance sector taking the biggest hit.
The market will now turn focus to Q3 earnings," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Here is a lowdown of the movers and shakers of Saturdays session on Dalal Street:Rs 3.5 lakh cr wealth wiped outEquity investors lost Rs 3.54 lakh crore as total market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms came down to Rs 152.97 lakh crore from Rs 156.50 lakh crore on Friday.Sensex below 40k after 65 sessionsSensex closed below the psychologically important 40,000 mark after 65 sessions.
It was on October 29, 2019, that Sensex had closed below that mark at 39,831 last time.Insurance stocks plungeShares of insurance companies plunged up to 11 per cent after new income-tax cuts announced in the Budget made it conditional on giving up tax exemptions, including those on insurance policies.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance fell 10.93 per cent to Rs 455 while SBI Life tanked 10 per cent to Rs 894.BPCL EoI soonThe expression of interest (EoI) for the sale of government stake in Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) will be out shortly, the Disinvestment Secretary said on Saturday.
Shares of the company closed 3.10 per cent lower at Rs 442.85.Cigarette makers hitCigarette stocks declined up to 7 per cent after the government proposed to hike excise duty on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Godfrey Phillips slipped 6.82 per cent at Rs 1,129, ITC 6.97 per cent to Rs 218.85, VST Industries 5.4 per cent to Rs 4,213 and NTC Industries fell 3.88 per cent to Rs 31.IT stocks gainNifty IT was the sole gainer among sectoral indices on NSE, thanks to governments announcement that it was working on a policy to enable the private sector to build data centre parks throughout the country.
Nifty IT index rose 0.81 per cent to 16,275 thanks to gains in TCS (4.25 per cent), Tech Mahindra (1.31 per cent) and Tata Elxsi (0.82 per cent).Govt to divest stake in IDBI BankShares of IDBI Bank jumped over 10.03 per cent to Rs 37.30 after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech that the government was looking to divest remaining stake in the lender.
The government held 47.11 per cent in the bank at the end of December quarter.Escorts sales upEscorts said its agri machinery segment registered 1.2 per cent rise in tractor sales at 6,063 units in January.
Shares of the company dipped 3.74 per cent to Rs 773.95.Shakti Pumps gains 20%Shares of irrigation equipment markers jumped after the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on Saturday proposed to help 35 lakh farmers set up water pumps.
Shakti Pumps was the biggest gainer among them, up 20 per cent to Rs 292.55.Maruti Suzuki sales upMaruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Saturday reported a 1.6 per cent increase in sales at 1,54,123 units in January.
However, the stock closed 1.53 per cent lower at Rs 6,806.
IHC adds 24 hotels in FY20Tata group hospitality arm Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has added 24 properties to its portfolio through management contracts this financial year and will continue to scout for larger properties, including iconic assets going ahead, a top company official said.
Shares of the company drifted 2.78 per cent lower to Rs 138.10.Who moved my Sensex?HDFC was the biggest drag on Sensex, bleeding 231 points while ITC, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank shed 370 points together.
Among other major losers were L-T, Reliance Industries, SBI and Axis Bank.Most active stocksSBI was the most active stock on NSE in terms of value of transactions.
It was followed by RIL, IRCTC, L-T and Maruti Suzuki.
In terms of volume of transactions, Vodafone Idea topped the charts, followed by YES Bank, SBI, Tata Motors and ITC.
144 stocks give sell signalAs many as 144 stocks fell below the signal line of MACD indicator, flashing sell signals.
They include ICICI Pru Life, Bombay Dyeing, Dish TV, Equitas Holdings, Adani Enterprises, HUDCP, SBI Life Insurance, BPCL, Biocon and Welspun Specialty, among others.