Weakness persisted on the bourses in early afternoon trade on sustained selling pressure in index pivotals. At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 240.11 points or 0.67% at 35,651.41. The Nifty 50 index was down 86.60 points or 0.8% at 10,705.90. Shares of index heavyweights HDFC and L&T declined. Metal and mining stocks declined. Most Asian stocks fell.
Sentiment was impacted after provisional data showed that domestic and foreign funds, both, were net sellers of Indian equities yesterday, 2 January 2019. The trading activity showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 621.06 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 226.18 crore.
Intraday volatility was high. Key benchmark indices edged lower in early trade. Indices cut early losses to regain positive zone in morning trade. Fresh selling in index pivotals derailed a brief intraday pullback in mid-morning trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.5%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was off 0.14%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 933 shares rose and 1303 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.
Index heavyweight and housing finance major HDFC dropped 1.47% to Rs 1,950.
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Index heavyweight and engineering & construction major L&T fell 1.64% to Rs 1,403.
Metal and mining stocks declined. Tata Steel (down 1.24%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (down 1.29%), Vedanta (down 0.49%), JSW Steel (down 0.98%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.79%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.18%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.68%), NMDC (down 2.94%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.08%) edged lower.
Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) lost 4.14%. JSPL announced appointment of Sudhanshu Saraf as the chief executive officer of steel business. The appointment of Sudhanshu Saraf as CEO - Steel Busmess comes alongwith the elevation of Naushad Akhter Ansari as joint managing director (JMD) of JSPL. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2019.
Equitas Holdings rose 0.45%. Equitas Holdings announced that Equitas Small Finance Bank has revised the interest rates on it savings account with effect from 1 January 2019. Equitas Small Finance Bank offers 5.5% per annum (pa) interest on SB deposits for balance up to 1 lakh. Above Rs 1 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh, the interest rate is 6% pa. Above Rs 10 lakh and up to Rs. 1 crore the interest rate is 6.50% pa. Above Rs 1 crore and up to Rs 5 crore, the interest rate is 7% pa. Above Rs 5 crore and up to Rs 30 crore the interest rate is 7.25% pa. Above Rs 30 crore and up to Rs 50 crore, the interest rate is 7.50% pa. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2019.
Overseas, most Asian stocks fell after Apple Inc. added to global growth concerns by cutting its guidance. Apple downgraded its sales projections, citing slowing Chinese growth. US stocks closed the first session of the year on a positive note after volatile trading Wednesday, as crude oil prices rebounded.
Market participants are watching a partial US government shutdown that is nearing its second week as President Donald Trump mets with top lawmakers to discuss reopening the government by resolving a dispute over funding for the expansion of the US-Mexico border wall.
On the data front, a survey of American manufacturers showed the slowest growth in December in 15 months. IHS Markit said its manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.8 in December from an initial reading of 53.9, and it was down from 55.3 in the prior month.
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