Key benchmark indices languished in the red after trimming losses from intraday lows in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 216.69 points or 0.68% at 31,675.54. The Nifty index was down 68.20 points or 0.68% at 9,906.20. Domestic stocks fell in tandem with their global counterparts on rising geo-political tensions between North Korea and the US.
Trading for the week had begun on a subdued note as the key benchmark indices edged lower in early trade on negative Asian stocks. Stocks hovered with small losses till mid-morning trade. Indices languished in the red after extending losses and hitting fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade triggered by weak European stocks.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.88%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was off 0.9%. The fall in both these indices was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.
The broad market depicted weakness. There were more than two losers against every gainer on BSE. On the BSE, 1,698 shares declined and 785 shares rose. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.
Capital goods stocks dropped. ABB India (down 2.29%), Siemens (down 1.9%), CG Power & Industries (down 1.76%), Bharat Electronics (down 1.34%), and Havells India (down 0.7%) declined. Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 0.27%.
L&T slipped 0.97%. The company said its subsidiary L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (L&T IDPL) proposes to establish an infrastructure investment trust in the name of IndInfravit Trust under the provisions of the InvIT Regulations. In this regards, an application for registration of the InvIT as an infrastructure investment trust was filed by L&T IDPL with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 1 September 2017. The announcement was made on Saturday, 2 September 2017.
IT stocks also declined. Tech Mahindra (down 2.36%), Infosys (down 2.16%), TCS (down 0.37%), Wipro (down 0.22%) and HCL Technologies (down 0.38%) dropped.
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Lupin shed 0.09%. The company announced the launch of its Olmesartan Medoxomil tablets, 5 mg, 20mg and 40mg having received an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration earlier. The announcement was made during market hours today, 4 September 2017.
The drug is the AB rated equivalent of Daichi Sankyo Inc's Benicar tablets. It is indicated for the treatment of hypertension, alone or in combination with other antihypertensive agents, to lower blood pressure. Benicar had annual US sales of $681 million as per IMS MAT July 2017.
D-Link India slumped 8.47% after the company reported net loss of Rs 10.59 crore in Q1 June 2017 as against net profit of Rs 0.51 crore in Q1 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 1 September 2017. Net sales declined 38.98% to Rs 92.17 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016.
On the political front, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expansion and reshuffle of his Council of Ministers took place on Sunday, 3 September 2017. Nine new Ministers of State made it to the Union Cabinet, while four existing ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were promoted to Cabinet rank.
Nirmala Sitharaman was named as Defence Minister. Piyush Goyal was named the Railway Minister with additional charge of Ministry of Coal. Suresh Prabhu was moved to the Commerce Ministry. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was given additional charge of the Skill Development Ministry. Uma Bharti has been divested of her portfolio of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, which is now with Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore replaced Vijay Goel in the Sports Ministry.
Overseas, European and Asian stocks dropped after North Korea on Sunday, 3 September 2017, said it tested a hydrogen bomb with unprecedentedly big power, raising geo-political tensions between North Korea and US. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump threatened to increase economic sanctions and halt trade with any nation doing business with North Korea.
US equities finished higher on Friday, 1 September 2017 on expectations that a weaker-than-expected rise in August nonfarm payrolls could dull the Federal Reserve's desire to further raise borrowing costs in 2017. Meanwhile, US financial markets will remain closed today, 4 September 2017 in observance of Labor Day.
In economic data, the US economy added 156,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate stood at 4.4% in August, rising by 0.1 percentage point from July. Average hourly wages increased by 0.1% in August from a 0.3% increase in the previous month.
In other economic data, the closely watched Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index jumped to a six-year high in August. The University of Michigan said its final gauge of consumer sentiment for August came in at 96.8 versus a preliminary reading of 97.6.
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