Key equity benchmarks hit fresh intraday low in morning trade. Selling pressure emerged after the rupee breached 73 per dollar mark for the first time in early deals today. At 10:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 225.22 points or 0.62% at 36,300.92. The Nifty 50 index was down 78.95 points or 0.72% at 10,929.35.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 73.3775, compared with its close of 72.91 during the previous trading session. Rupee hit a record low of 73.4175 against the dollar in early deals.
Broader market recovered. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.15%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.77%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned positive from negative. On BSE, 1284 shares rose and 723 shares fell. A total of 101 shares were unchanged.
Wipro (down 2.22%), ICICI Bank (down 1.89%), TCS (down 1.45%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.37%), Axis Bank (down 1.27%) and Larsen & Toubro (down 1.22%), were the major Sensex losers.
Most auto stocks declined. Ashok Leyland (up 0.21%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.08%) and Escorts up (up 0.91%), edged higher. Hero MotoCorp (down 1.27%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.92%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.66%) and Tata Motors (down 0.44%), edged lower.
Eicher Motors was down 6.45% after it reported production loss of 10,000 motorcycles in September after a section of its workforce did not report to work since September 24 at its Oragadam factory near Chennai, Eicher Motors said in an exchange filing. Meanwhile, its sales rose 2% to 71,662 units last month, the filing added.
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TVS Motor Company down 1.28%. The company registered a sales growth of 18% with sales increasing to 4.23 lakh units in the September 2018 from 3.59 lakh units in September 2017 . The announcement was made after market hours on Monday, 1 October 2018.
Most telecom shares fell. Bharti Airtel (down 1.33%), Vodafone Idea (down 0.77%) and Reliance Communications (down 2.26%), edged lower. MTNL (up 0.87%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.99%), edged higher.
Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel down 4.82%.
Overseas, most Asia stocks declined. Markets in China and South Korea are closed for a public holiday.
In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high on Tuesday as it rallied for a second day, boosted by gains in Intel and optimism around global trade. Stocks were coming off strong gains from the previous session after Canada joined the US and Mexico in a new trade deal. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or "USMCA" for short, will see all three countries compromise on certain trade aspects. More market access will be granted to US dairy farmers, while Canada has agreed to effectively cap automobile exports to the States.
Trade war remains in focus for the markets. Following the new USMCA deal to replace the current North American Free Trade Agreement, eyes are now on Washington's ongoing trade fight with China. Investors will be looking to China, to see if Beijing and Washington can compromise on certain trade elements.
In the UK, the Conservatives' annual party conference was under way with Prime Minister Theresa May facing pressure over her proposal for future UK-EU relations, known as the Chequers plan, which has already been rejected by EU leaders. Any additional signs of political instability in Europe could weigh on the US, where multinational firms have a large amount of revenue exposure to the region.
Further in Europe, Italy last week unveiled a 2019 budget deficit target that has met stiff opposition from European Union officials, who say it will violate the bloc's fiscal rules. Italy's coalition government proposed a budget that would increase the deficit to 2.4% of gross domestic output in 2019, well above the initial target of 0.8% proposed by the country's previous centre-left government. The current target range for this year is 1.6%. The deficit blowout revived fears of the eurozone debt crisis and put pressure on the euro.
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