Bargain hunting in battered index pivotals helped the key benchmark indices cut losses in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 347.82 points or 1.05% at 32,658.45. The Nifty 50 index was down 114 points or 1.1% at 10,003.20. The Sensex was trading below the psychological 33,000 mark. The Nifty regained the psychological 10,000 mark after sliding below that in intraday trade. Auto stocks fell. Realty stocks dropped.
Domestic equity market reacted negatively, in-line with global markets, as trade war intensified. US President Donald Trump ordered at least $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports and China announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion of imports from the US.
Key indices extended fall after opening with a negative bias. However, stocks cut losses in afternoon trade. The Sensex lost 522.43 points, or 1.58% at the day's low of 32,483.84 in afternoon trade, its lowest intraday level since 23 October 2017. The index fell 316.12 points, or 0.96% at the day's high of 32,690.15 in early trade. The Nifty fell 162.85 points, or 1.61% at the day's low of 9,951.90 in early afternoon trade, its lowest intraday level since 6 October 2017. The index fell 101.90 points, or 1.01% at the day's high of 10,012.85 in early trade.
Broader market witnessed major selling pressure. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.65%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 1.84%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was quite weak. On BSE, 2,157 shares fell and 366 shares rose. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.
Auto stocks fell. Bajaj Auto (down 3.13%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.63%), Tata Motors (down 1.37%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.21%), Eicher Motors (down 1.77%), Ashok Leyland (down 1.09%), Escorts (down 1.87%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.83%) edged lower.
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Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) was down 1.59%. The company through its wholly owned subsidiary, HMCL Netherlands B.V. (HMCL BV), entered into a joint venture agreement in 2014 (as subsequently amended from time to time) and certain ancillary agreements inter alia, for sale, distribution and marketing of the company's products in Colombia. The joint venture is being implemented through a joint venture company incorporated in Colombia, i.e. HMCL Colombia S.a.S (the JVC). The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 March 2018.
Pursuant to subsequent investment by HMCL BV into the share capital of the JVC, the equity interests/shareholding of the joint venture partners in the JVC have been re-aligned whereby the company's equity interest/shareholding in the JVC (through HMCL BV) has increased to 68%, on a fully diluted basis, from 51%; and the other joint venture partner's equity interest/shareholding in the JVC, held through Woven Holdings LLC, has decreased to 32%, on a fully diluted basis, from 49%.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was up 0.05%. The company announced that Mahindra and Ford signed five new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to co-develop midsize and compact SUV and electric vehicle, along with sharing powertrain portfolios. It also aims to embark on joint development of connected vehicle solutions. The agreement strengthens strategic collaboration between these two firms by focusing on product development for India and emerging markets. The MoUs, which are non-binding, mark the progress made by the two companies since announcing their alliance in September 2017. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 March 2018.
Hindustan Zinc fell 2.86% to Rs 303.55 on turning ex-dividend today, 23 March 2018, for interim dividend of Rs 6 per share for the year ending 31 March 2018. Before turning ex-dividend, the stock offered a dividend yield of 1.92% based on the closing price of Rs 312.50 on BSE yesterday, 22 March 2018.
Realty stocks dropped. DLF (down 3.78%), Indiabulls Real Estate (down 3.17%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (down 3.41%), D B Realty (down 2.49%), Unitech (down 3.86%), Sobha (down 3.82%), Godrej Properties (down 2.7%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 4.92%) and Oberoi Realty (down 3.49%) declined.
Overseas, Asian markets slumped on Friday, tracking sharp falls in US stocks, which took a hit on fears of a trade war. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell 4.66%.
In China, Shanghai Composite index was down 3.38%. China, as a retaliation to US President Donald Trump's tariff plans, announced for reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion of imports from the US. Such imports include US pork, recycled aluminium, steel pipes, fruits and wine. China will also pursue legal action against the US at the World Trade Organization in response to the US planned tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and called for dialog to resolve the dispute. This is a response to Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports to compensate for alleged intellectual property abuses by China.
US stocks fell sharply on Thursday, with major indices suffering their worst day in weeks as the threat of a trade war with China sparked a widespread selloff.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum on Thursday that would impose retaliatory tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese imports. The new measures are designed to penalise China for trade practices that the Trump administration says involve stealing American companies' intellectual property. They will primarily target certain products in the technology sector where China holds an advantage over the US. Investors are concerned that protectionist trade policies could be met with retaliatory measures by major trading partners, and that a trade war could contribute to inflation in the economy.
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