Sensex ends FY18 with 11.30% gain; investors richer by Rs 20.70 lakh cr

Tata Steel was the day's worst performer in the Sensex pack, plunging 3.25 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel at 3.05 per cent.

The BSE Sensex slumped 206 points in see-saw trade on Wednesday to close below the 33,000-mark on the last trading session of 2017-18 but finished the fiscal with a gain of 11.30 per cent.

Besides weak global cues, squaring-up of bets by investors  due to end of March month expiry in the derivatives segment halted its two-session winning run, brokers said.

On the macro front, official data showed India's fiscal deficit soared to Rs 7.15 lakh crore at the end of February, exceeding the revised target for the full fiscal, which further hit sentiment.

The broader 50-share index Nifty also ended 70 points lower at 10,113.70.

The flagship Sensex has gained 3,348.18 points, or 11.30 per cent, during 2017-18.

The index had gained 16.88 per cent in the previous fiscal.

Investors saw a wealth addition of Rs 20.70 lakh crore during fiscal 2017-18.

The market capitalisation of all the firms listed on the BSE reached Rs 142.24 lakh crore, from Rs 121.54 lakh crore as on March 31, 2017.

The broader Nifty closed the fiscal with gains of 939.95 points, or 10.25 per cent.

During the previous fiscal, it scored gains of 1,435.55 points, or 18.55 per cent.

For the day, the BSE Sensex snapped its two-session winning streak to end lower by 205.71 points, or 0.62 per cent at 32,968.68. It hovered between 33,104.11 and 32,917.66 during the session.

The gauge had rallied 577.85 points in the past two sessions.

The NSE Nifty too ended the day 70.45 points, or 0.69 per cent lower at 10,113.70 after shuttling between 10,158.35 and 10,096.90.

On a weekly basis, the Sensex rose 372.14 points, or 1.14 per cent, while the Nifty gained 115.65 points, or 1.16 per cent. This was their first gain in five weeks.

Stock exchanges will remain closed on Thursday and Friday on account of 'Mahavir Jayanti' and 'Good Friday', respectively.

"Market slid on the expiry day due to volatility in global market and last leg of redemption ahead of introduction of LTCG. We expect domestic volatility to normalise as declining yield and inflation may provide room for RBI to extend their neutral stance, against rate hike expectation.

"Result season will be next major trigger as earnings growth remain in the initial stage of recovery while investors are focused on the possibility of further upgrade," said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,063.12, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 2,172.91 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data.

Tata Steel was the day's worst performer in the Sensex pack, plunging 3.25 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel at 3.05 per cent.

Other losers were Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, RIL, Infosys, SBI, Power Grid, Tata Motors, ITC Ltd, ONGC, Dr Reddy's, NTPC, Axis Bank, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank, shedding up to 2.93 per cent.

In contrast, Wipro rose 3.27 per cent, Coal India 2.94 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 2.30 per cent, Kotak Bank 0.55 per cent, Yes Bank 0.49 per cent, IndusInd Bank 0.43 per cent, L&T 0.39 per cent, HDFC Ltd 0.28 per cent, TCS 0.26 per cent, Hindustan Unilever 0.26 per cent and Maruti Suzuki 0.11 per cent.

Sector-wise, BSE telecom fell 2.58 per cent, metal 2.04 per cent, healthcare 1.14 per cent, realty 1.07 per cent, power 1.05 per cent, infrastructure 0.99 per cent, teck 0.67 per cent, banking 0.65 per cent, PSU 0.50 per cent, FMCG 0.37 per cent and IT 0.31 per cent.

However, consumer durables rose 0.24 per cent and oil and gas 0.06 per cent.

The broader market sentiment too remained bearish, with the small-cap and mid-cap indices falling 0.92 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.

Overseas, Asian markets closed lower after a sharp fall on Wall Street, driven by technology stocks.

Hong Kong ended 2.50 per cent down, Japan's Nikkei shed 1.34 per cent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.40 per cent.

European stocks too were down in their initial deals. Paris's CAC declined by 1.33 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX fell 1.43 per cent and London's FTSE shed 0.98 per cent.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters