The Indian benchmark indices ended lower while gold surged to record high on Monday as worries about the global banking sector returned to the fore leading to investors dumping risk assets like stocks and rushing to the safety of safe haven gold. The Sensex dropped as much as 905 points, Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 16,828 and gold surged to record high of Rs 60,455 on the MCX.
The Sensex ended 361 points lower at 57,629 and Nifty 50 index declined 112 points to settle at 16,988.
On Sunday, UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse for $3.23 billion and assume up to $5.4 billion in losses in a deal backed by a massive Swiss guarantee. Bullion prices have rallied by 10 per cent, or about $180, on safe-haven demand after the collapse of US-based Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month, which ensnared 167-year-old lender Credit Suisse, news agency Reuters reported.
"Gold prices have risen almost 7-8 per cent in the past month. The rally in the yellow metal is primarily due to the banking crisis in the west. The liquidity infused by the central banks and the expectations of lower to no rate hikes is pushing gold prices up. Gold is a safe haven, historically it has gained in periods of uncertainty," said Colin Shah, founder and managing director of Kama Jewelry.
"Gold prices hitting a fresh high is a sign of slower economic growth and lower interest rates with ample liquidity to help the system steer of the current situation. The current situation globally may take some time to clear out. Globally, central banks have been adding gold reserves. The onset of the festive season in India starting from Gudi Padva will support demand at the retail level. We expect gold to gain further and touch new highs in the next few months. Domestically, it is expected to trade in the range of Rs 61,000-62,000/ 10gm. Internationally, it may scale levels of $2,050-2100/oz," Shah added.
Thirteen of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty Metal index's 2.35 per cent lower. Nifty PSU Bank, Realty, IT, Auto, Bank and Financial Services indexes also fell between 0.6-1.7 per cent.
On the other hand, FMCG and Media indexes ended with a positive bias.
Mid- and small-cap shares also faced selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices fell 1 per cent each.
Bajaj Finserv was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 4.2 per cent to close at Rs 1,247. Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Finance, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Wipro, Coal India, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports and Tata Motors also fell between 2-3.4 per cent.
On the flipside, Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Petroleum, ITC, Grasim Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Divi's Labs and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2,480 shares ended lower while 1,143 closed higher on the BSE.
