Sensex drops 274 pts, Nifty ends below 15,750; DRL sinks 10%, Axis Bank 3%

Stock market updates: Indian equities were caught in the global crossfire as a heavy selloff in Chinese tech giants soured sentiment in late noon deals on Tuesday. Add to it, the US markets seemed nervous ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting that kicks off later in the day.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.97 per cent, while the Hong Kong benchmark fell 2.84 per cent. In onshore markets, Chinese bluechips dropped 2.93 per cent. Meanwhile in Europe, the pan-European STOXX 600 index skidded 0.6 per cent and futures attached to all three main Wall Street indices slipped between 0.3-0.5 per cent.

Against this backdrop, the BSE Sensex and the NSE's Nifty50 tanked 273.5 points and 78 points to end at 52,579 and 15,746 levels, respectively. In the broader markets, mid-cap stocks faced a severe blow with the BSE MidCap index erasing 0.67 per cent. The BSE SmallCap index, on the other hand, was down 0.11 per cent.

4:17 PM

MARKET STRATEGY :: Restrict leveraged positions and wait for clarity

Markets traded volatile for yet another session and lost nearly half a percent. The benchmark opened with an uptick but feeble global cues mainly from Asian counterparts combined with a decline in select index majors pushed the index lower as the day progressed. Consequently, the Nifty index ended lower by 0.5% to settle at 15,746 levels. Most sectors traded in tandem with the benchmark and traded southward wherein disappointing numbers led the pharma index to end with a sharp cut of over 4%. The broader markets too ended in the red where the midcap and smallcap index lost 0.7% and 0.1% respectively.

 

The tussle is still on over the next directional move in the index and there’s no clear indication yet. Excessive volatility due to prevailing earnings season and upcoming monthly expiry of derivatives contracts are further adding to the participants’ worries. We reiterate our view to restrict leveraged positions and wait for clarity.

Views by: Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking 

4:06 PM

MARKET VIEW :: Weak start to pharma earnings dragged stocks

Domestic market skewed in favour of the bears, failing to hold onto its early gains due to weak global cues and selling in pharma stocks. Bleeding pharma companies pulled down the market due to a weak start to sector earnings season. It created panic as the sector is priced with high expectations. Broadly, barring metals and consumer durables, all major sectors traded in negative territory. Following heavy selling in China and weakening Asian peers ahead of the crucial Fed Reserve policy meeting stated this week.

Views by: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

4:01 PM

MARKET RECAP :: S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

Stocks gave up intra-day gains today as investors were nervous amid selling across Chinese markets by global funds coupled with the policies of the Chinese Authorities and the likely impact on Indian Markets.

While we did see profit booking across banks and the pharma pack on account of negative newsflow on few pharma names, certain pockets across the broader market like textile exporters &  coffee stocks posted smart gains on the back of rising coffee future.

3:57 PM

IPO Alert :: Glenmark Life Sciences' issue subscribed 2.5x so far on Day 1 backed by retail investors

3:53 PM

BSE Snapshot :: 488 scrips hit fresh 52-week high in a weak market

3:52 PM

Sector Watch :: UCO, Canara Bank end higher post Q1 results; index up 0.4%

3:51 PM

Sector Watch :: APL Apollo leads gains within the metal pack

>> The Board of APL Apolllo Tubes is due to meet on August 6 to conider bonus share issue

3:49 PM

Volatility Alert

India VIX, the index to measure volatility in the markets, settled over 6% higher at 13 levels

3:48 PM

IndiGo closes 2% lower ahead of Q1 results

3:47 PM

Inox Leisure pares gains partially after Co refutes reports of selling stake to Amazon IN

3:45 PM

Tata Motors ends mildly in the red post Q1 results

3:44 PM

Axis Bank falls over 3% as NIM hits 4-qtr low in Q1

3:43 PM

Dr Reddy's Labs plunges 10% on whistle blower complaint

3:41 PM

BSE SmallCap index fares better than peers, ends 0.1% down

3:40 PM

BSE MidCap index underperforms, slips 0.7%