Sensex Ends Lower; Sentiments Turn Sour On Templeton Mutual Fund Debt Closure

Benchmark indices ended the day sharply lower, as sentiments were impacted by a decision of Franklin Templeton Trustee Services Private Limited to wind up six schemes run by Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund.

A delay in announcing a stimulus package by the government also had its impact on the markets. The Sensex ended the day lower by 535 points, while the Nifty lost 160 points in trade.

Banking stocks were the hardest hit in trade with stocks like ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank seeing huge losses.

Stocks from the asset management company space also lost ground after Franklin Templeton AMC stopped six of its debt schemes. HDFC AMC, Nippon Life India Asset Management fell sharply in trade. Heavyweight, Reliance Industries did manage to lend some support to the market and ended the day almost 3 per cent higher.

Other stocks that ended the day higher from the Nifty were Britannia, HeroMoto Corp and Sun Pharma. Shares in Bajaj Finance today hit a 52-week low as investors continued to worry over rising NPAs and growth.

In terms of sectors, the Nifty Realty index and the Nifty Banking index were the top losers.

The top performer from the Nifty Midcap was Alchem Labs, which jumped almost 10 per cent in trade.

Meanwhile , European markets were marginally lower, while Dow Futures were trading flat.

GoodReturns.in