It was a volatile day for Indian share market today. After opening the day in green, benchmark indices erased gains within the first hour and kept falling as the session progressed.

Markets reversed their two-day winning streak with losses in index heavyweight Reliance Industries.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 765 points (down 1.3%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 205 points (down 1.2%).

UPL and BPCL were among the top gainers today.

Power Grid Corp and Reliance Industries, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,236, down by 197 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index ended on a flat note, while the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.3%.

Sectoral indices ended on a negative note with stocks in the energy sector, banking sector and FMCG sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.

Engineering stocks, on the other hand, witnessed buying interest.

Shares of KEI Industries and Torrent Power hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a positive note today.

The Hang Seng ended on a flat note, while the Shanghai Composite ended up by 1%. The Nikkei ended up by 1% in today's session.

US stock futures are trading on a flat note today with the Dow Futures trading up by 6 points.

The rupee is trading at 75.16 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading on a flat note today at Rs 47,580 per 10 grams.

Here are 5 Factors Why Indian Stock Markets Fell Today

• Covid fears: While scientists are still figuring out the potential harm that the new variant of coronavirus can cause, initial evidence has suggested that the virus may be highly infectious. Meanwhile, the first cases of Omicron variant in India have been confirmed in two individuals in Karnataka. Reports also suggest as many as 12 patients suspected to be infected with the Covid-19 'Omicron' variant have been admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital in Delhi so far today.
• Lack of conviction: While the Nifty made a smart pullback after slipping below 17,000 earlier this week, investors are unlikely to make bold bullish bets in the market till new triggers emerge. With the year-end close, some investors may also continue to book profits following a year of stellar returns.
• IPO frenzy fizzles out: Star Health and Allied Insurance's Rs 72.5 bn initial public offering (IPO), the third largest this year and eighth largest ever, received poor response from investors. This is the second large offering after digital payments major Paytm this year to receive a lukewarm response from investors, a sign that despite the IPO frenzy investors are discerning when it comes to pricing.
• FIIs slow down: Concerns over rising omicron cases and valuations seem to have weighed on foreign institutional investor (FIIs) inflow. FIIs net sold shares worth Rs 9.1 bn in the Indian equity market yesterday.
• Profit booking: Apart from the above, losses were also seen as share market succumbed to profit-booking.

We will keep you updated on how these factors develop in the coming days and what effect they have on Indian stock markets. 

In news from the power sector, Indian Exchange Energy was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of Indian Exchange Energy (IEX) soared 15% on the BSE in today's intra-day trade, as the stock turned ex-date for 2:1 bonus shares.

The company fixed Monday, 6 December 2021 as the 'record date', for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders entitled for issuance of bonus equity shares.

Last month, the company's board had approved the issue of two bonus shares for every one share held by investors in the company.

Shares of IEX have been one of the poster boys of the current bull market on the back of improving the regulatory environment for power trading in India and surge in trade volumes for the exchange.

In the past six months, the stock has rallied 125% against a 12% rise in the BSE Sensex, while over the past one year, it zoomed 273% compared to a 31% surge in the benchmark index.

IEX is India's premier energy exchange providing a nationwide, automated trading platform for physical delivery of electricity, renewable energy, renewable energy certificates and energy saving certificates.

The exchange platform enables efficient price discovery and increases the accessibility and transparency of the power market in India while also enhancing the speed and efficiency of trade execution.

IEX share price ended the day up by 5.2% on the BSE.

Speaking of the power sector, it's interesting to note the power exchanged in India is about 4.5% of the overall power production, as can be seen in the chart below:

Moving on to news from the engineering sector...

KEC International Bags Orders Worth Rs 10.7 Bn

Infrastructure engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) major KEC International said it has bagged new orders worth Rs 10.7 bn across various businesses.

Its transmission & distribution (T&D) business has secured orders for projects in India, the Middle East, Africa, and America.

While the railways business has secured an order for construction of railway siding in the conventional segment in India, the civil business bagged an order for infra works in the water pipeline segment in the country.

The oil & gas pipelines business has secured an order for laying of oil and gas pipeline, through the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Spur Infrastructure.

The cable business has bagged orders for various types of cables in India and overseas.

KEC's order book continues to grow on the backdrop of orders secured across all our business verticals. The continuous orders in T&D have significantly enhanced their order book, especially in the international markets.

The company is currently executing infrastructure projects in 30+ countries and has a footprint in 105+ countries (includes EPC, supply of towers and cables). It is the flagship company of the RPG Group.

KEC International share price ended the day down by 0.1% on the BSE.