Closing Bell: The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, settled sharply lower amid volatility, tracking weak global cues, on Monday. The S&P BSE Sensex settled 354 points lower to 71,731. The Sensex hit a high of 72,386 and a low of 71,602 during intra-day trade. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 closed at 21,772, down 82 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors was the lead gainer, up 5.46 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, M&M, PowerGrid, Tata Steel, and NTPC. On the down side, Bajaj twins, Airtel, Maruti, HCLTech, UltraCemco emerged losers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap settled 0.02 per cent higher, while the BSE Smallcap dipped 0.23 per cent.
Sectorally, bank, capital goods, information technology, and FMCG stocks were down 0.3 per cent to 0.9 per cent. Auto, pharma, metal, oil & gas, and realty gained 1 per cent each.
In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex ended 440 points higher at 72,086, while the NSE Nifty50 closed at 21,854, up 156 points.