Summary: Benchmark indices ended Thursday's session in the red, led by losses in financials and metal stocks, after witnessing a sharp last hour sell-off on March series futures & options contracts while brent oil hit $75 per barrel for the first time in 2019. Brent oil rose above $75 per barrel as quality concerns forced the suspension of some Russian crude exports to Europe while the United States prepared to tighten sanctions on Iran. The BSE Sensex ended the day 324 points, or 0.83 per cent lower, with Tata Steel, Vedanta, Maruti Suzuki, State Bank of India and Coal India being the top losers. Nifty50, too, pared gains to finish at 11,642, down 84 points, or 0.72 per cent. The market breadth remained in favour of sellers with 963 stocks declining and 777 shares advancing on the NSE. Among sectoral indices, only Nifty Realty index ended in the green, with Nifty Metal index ending 1.86 per cent lower. The Nifty PSU Bank index also declined 1.56 per cent. In broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index fell 88 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 15,130, and the S&P BSE Smallcap index dropped 8 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 14,839. UltraTech Cement shares hit 52-week high of Rs 4,510, up 3 per cent, in early morning trade on Thursday, and have surged 7 per cent in the past two trading days on the BSE, after the company reported strong performance in the March quarter (Q4FY19). Six companies - Reliance Industries (RIL), HCL Technologies, Titan Company, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, and UPL - from the Nifty50 index hit their respective fresh record highs on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday. Shares of sugar companies rallied up to 12 per cent on the BSE in early morning deal on the back of heavy volumes on hopes that sweetener output may fall in 2019-20 due to low rains.
