Biggest gainers & losers of the day: STC zooms 20%, Ultratech Cements bleeds

New Delhi: Domestic equity markets ended another session with losses as geopolitical worries continued to spook the traders. The rising crude prices dampened the sentiments, hinting at rising inflation in the near term. Gains in metal and IT players were offset by weakness in financials, FMCG and consumer durables counters.

The 30-share pack Sensex tumbled 366.22 points or 0.66 per cent to 55,102.68. Its broader peer, Nifty50, dropped 107.90 points or 0.65 per cent to 16,498.05. Among the wider markets, the BSE midcap index settled a per cent lower, whereas BSE smallcap index rose.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said, "The subdued trend of the domestic market continued, however the level of volatility is reducing. Today large caps were more muted, dragged by FIIs selling, compared to the broad market."

Among the stock specific companies, tile makers and cement players were a major disappointment. Companies dropped over supply disruption, rising input cost and energy prices worries. On the other hand, PSU stocks were in high demand among investors.

Let's have a look at the biggest movers and shakers of Thursday's session:

GAINERS

State Trading Corporation of India: The state run of trading and commerce firm hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent to Rs 109.30 on the back of strong technical setup. Also, the traders anticipated updates from the government.

Shipping Corporation of India: The state run shipping player rallied 18 per cent to Rs 125.50 after the company announced a scheme of demerger of non-core assets in a regulatory filing.

Nahar Polyfilms: The containers and packaging company surged 17 per cent to Rs 483.25 on the back of robust demand in 2022, leading a 65 per rise this year. It had recently increased its production capacity in the 8.7 meter 5-layer BOPP line.

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation: The state-run coal miner advanced 13 per cent to Rs 155.62 ahead of the company's investor/analyst meet scheduled on Friday, March 4, with ICICI Prudential AMC.

Hitachi Energy India: The power technologies provider continued to surge higher as it added 13 per cent to Rs 3,861.40. The scrip has jumped more about 28 per cent in the last three sessions.

LOSERS

Orient Bell: The tile maker dropped 9 per cent to Rs 563 after the BSE sought clarification from the company over the sudden rise in price and volume of the counter. The scrip rose as much as 55 per cent in the month of February.

Kajaria Ceramics: The ceramic wall and floor tile manufacturing company shed more than 7 per cent to Rs 961.40 on the back of weak technical set up on the daily charts. The scrip has dropped about 18 per cent in the last four sessions.

Gujarat Gas: The state run gas distributor was under pressure, dropping 7 per cent to Rs 525.90 amid the rising global concerns, hurting the energy prices. The volumes of the counter jumped three fold.

United Breweries: The domestic brewery player slumped 7 per cent to Rs 1,398.15 as the escalated geopolitical worries may disrupt the key raw material supply chain, particularly barley, for the company.

Ultratech Cement: The Cement major tanked over 6 per cent to Rs 5,981.85 on concerns of rising input cost and earnings downgrade due to rising energy cost, with subdued demand in multiple regions.