Key benchmark indices languished in the negative terrain in early afternoon trade. At 12:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 347.52 points or 1.33% at 25,802.72. The losses for the Nifty 50 index were higher in percentage terms than those for the Sensex. The Nifty was currently down 114.20 points or 1.41% at 7,959.90. The Sensex was currently hovering below the psychological 26,000 mark after falling below that mark in morning trade. The Nifty was currently trading below the psychological 8,000 level after sliding below that mark in mid-morning trade.
The broad market depicted weakness. There were more than five losers against every gainer on BSE. 2,013 shares fell and 354 shares rose. A total of 127 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently down 2.11%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 2.7%. The decline in both these indices was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.
The market remained in the negative zone so far during the trade after slipping into the red in early trade after opening in the positive terrain. The Sensex lost 373.03 points or 1.42% at the day's low of 25,777.21 in mid-morning trade, its lowest level since 25 May 2016. The barometer index rose 120.04 points or 0.45% at the day's high of 26,270.28 at the onset of the trading session. The Nifty lost 130.70 points or 1.61% at the day's low of 7,943.40 in mid-morning trade, its lowest level since 24 June 2016. The index rose 28.35 points or 0.35% at the day's high of 8,102.45 at the onset of the trading session.
The recent selling by the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) of Indian stocks weighed on sentiment. FPIs sold shares worth a net Rs 926.32 crore on Friday, 18 November 2016, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. FPIs were net sellers for the seventh straight session. Likely short term negative impact on the economy of recent demonetization of higher denomination notes by the Indian government and worries that the recently elected US president Donald Trump's policies stance - from protectionism and fiscal expansion - will boost inflation and lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more than expected continued to weigh on sentiment. Investors fear that the higher interest rates in the US will spark capital outflows from the emerging equity markets.
In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks were trading mixed. US stock market finished lower on Friday, 18 November 2016, but higher for the week as Wall Street heads into a holiday-shortened week when the focus will be on a slew of economic data and fresh scrutiny of a suddenly surging US dollar and rising interest rates. A recent rally sparked by bullishness about President-elect Donald Trump's potential pro-growth fiscal policies helped pushed stocks back toward record levels. Friday's trading was subdued as investors pulled back and focused on remarks made on the previous day by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen that pointed to a hike in interest rates next month.
IT stocks advanced on weak rupee. Tech Mahindra (up 0.97%), HCL Technologies (up 1.32%), TCS (up 0.41%), Infosys (up 0.46%), and Wipro (up 1.12%) edged higher. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports.
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In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 68.255, compared with closing of 68.125 during the previous trading session.
Telecom stocks dropped in weak market. Reliance Communications (RCom) (down 3.26%), Bharti Airtel (down 1.4%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 3.07%) and Idea Cellular (down 0.14%) declined.
Shares of Bharti Infratel rose 2.4%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.
Gujarat Gas rose 2.78% after net profit jumped 158.84% to Rs 71.83 crore on 20.75% decline in total income from operations to Rs 1273.59 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 18 November 2016.
Techno Electric & Engineering Company rose 1.72% after consolidated net profit surged 58.33% to Rs 70.60 crore on 44.26% increase in total income to Rs 373.71 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. The result was announced on Saturday, 19 November 2016. The company's board of directors approved sale of 45 megawatts wind power assets of the company.
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