Profit booking snaps 3-day winning streak

Choppy Trade On March F&O Expiry Day

- Indices opened on positive note, but pare gains

- BSE Sensex declined by 115.48 pts to 58,568.51

- NSE Nifty fell 33.50 pts to 17,464.75

- 30 of NSE-50 stocks ended with losses

- For 2021-22 fiscal, BSE Sensex jumped 9,059.36 pts or 18.29%

- And Nifty rallied 2,774.05 pts or 18.88%

- Metals and Media indices rise over 50% this fiscal

- Midcap-100, Smallcap-100 delivered over 25% returns

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty pared their early gains to settle lower in choppy trade on the last day of the 2021-22 fiscal on Thursday mainly due to profit-taking in Reliance Industries (RIL), Infosys and HDFC Bank after a three-day rally. Ending its three-day winning run, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 115.48 points or 0.20 per cent to settle at 58,568.51 amid the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts. During the day, it touched a high of 58,890.92 and a low of 58,485.79. The broader NSE Nifty declined by 33.50 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 17,464.75 with 30 of its stocks ending with losses. For 2021-22 fiscal, the BSE Sensex jumped 9,059.36 points or 18.29 per cent, while the Nifty rallied 2,774.05 points or 18.88 per cent.

"Even as markets ended the last day of the financial year in a rather quiet mood, it has delivered a 19 per cent return this financial year on the Nifty with two sectoral indices - metals and media returning over 50 per cent this financial year. On the broader market as well, both the midcap-100 and smallcap-100 delivered over 25 per cent return this year. Such returns in a year when FPI's have pulled out big money highlights the confidence of the Indian investor amidst a slew of headwinds," said S Ranganathan, head (research) at LKP Securities.