Sensex, Nifty record biggest single-day drop in 3 weeks

The 30-share Sensex ended down 556 points at 27,886 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 158 points at 8,444.

The Benchmark share indices extended losses for the fourth straight session registering their biggest single-day drop in 3 weeks amid broad based sell-off with index heavyweight Reliance Industries leading the decline.

Further, selling by foreign funds and the widening trade deficit in March also dampened sentiment.

The 30-share Sensex ended down 556 points at 27,886 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 158 points at 8,444.

"There was a broad-based sell off with investors discounting Reliance Industries post its results while IT shares extended losses after sluggish revenue growth from TCS which in turn lowered expectations from other IT majors," said Prakash Diwan, Director, Altamount Capital Management.

Investors are also keeping an eye on the Parliament's second leg of the budget session that began today.

Proceedings are being keenly watched for passage of key proposals, especially the Land Acquisition Bill.

During the first leg, which ended on 20 March, the government successfully passed the Coal Bill, the Mining Bill and the Insurance Bills; however, it was unable to pass the Land Acquisition Bill through the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and had to reintroduce the ordinance in early April.

"In the second session, the Land Bill, a constitutional amendment bill on a goods and services tax, the Black Money Bill and the Real Estate Regulator Bill, among others, are expected to be considered."

With opposition parties taking a very hard stance, the Land Acquisition Bill is likely to face very stiff opposition in the Rajya Sabha, where the government does not have a majority.

"We expect the other bills to sail through," said Sonal Varma, Aman Mohunta and Neha Saraf of Nomura in a report.

ECONOMY

On the macro-economic front, in India's trade deficit in the month of March - highest in four months at $11.79 billion because of sharp contraction in merchandise exports. Merchandise exports contracted sharply by 21.06% to $23.95 billion in March 2015 compared with $30.34 billion in March 2014.

SECTORS & STOCKS

All sectoral indices ended lower. BSE Realty index was the top loser down 2.8% followed by FMCG, IT, Oil and Gas, Auto and Capital Goods indices among others.

IT majors extended losses after lower-than-expected revenue growth in the fourth quarter by TCS. TCS ended down 1.8% while Infosys dropped 2.2%.

Wipro slipped 2.5% and HCL Tech ended down 1.7% ahead of their results tomorrow.

RIL which had edged higher ahead of its fourth quarter earnings witnessed profit taking and ended down 4.5%. RIL reported a record profit of Rs 6,381 crore in the March quarter, driven by robust refining margins.

ONGC ended down 2.5%. According to media reports,

ONGC has agreed to take over a part of abandoned assests of western offshore of Tapti gas field from its Joint Venture partners which includes Reliance Industries.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL which had gained in the previous weeks also extended losses and ended down 2.2-2.8% each.

Further, concerns that unseasonal rains that have damaged crops in parts of the country could reduce rural demand thereby hurting volumes also weighed on sentiment.

NTPC ended down 2%. NTPC has signed a MoU with the Odisha government for setting up of an ITI (Industrial Training Institute) at an investment of Rs 7.72 crore in Ganjam district. BHEL dropped 2.2%.

BHEL has successfully commissioned a 250 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Gujarat, according to the company's release to BSE. Sun Pharma rebounded after losses in the previous session to end 0.7% higher while ICICI Bank gained 0.3%.