After losing ground in mid-afternoon trade, key benchmark indices came off lows. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently off 92.13 points or 0.36% at 25,604.31. The 50-unit CNX Nifty was off 24.55 points or 0.32% at 7,761.30. The Sensex trimmed losses after hitting its lowest level in more than a year. The 50-unit CNX Nifty trimmed losses after hitting its lowest level in more than 10 months. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive.
Telecom stocks edged higher. FMCG stocks also gained. Shares of oil exploration & production firms were mixed after the government announced competitive bidding for small oil fields surrendered by ONGC and Oil India.
At 14:19 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 92.13 points or 0.36% at 25,604.31. The index fell 157.15 points at the day's low of 25,539.29 in mid-afternoon trade, its lowest level since 11 August 2014. The index jumped 242.93 points at the day's high of 25,939.37 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 24.55 points or 0.32% at 7,761.30. The index hit a low of 7,738.40 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 17 October 2014. The index hit a high of 7,862.55 in intraday trade.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 24.01 points or 0.23% at 10,499.82. The decline in the index was lower than Sensex's decline in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 44.13 points or 0.41% at 10,777.51. The decline in the index was higher than Sensex's decline in percentage terms.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive in mid-afternoon trade. On BSE, 1,317 shares declined and 1,193 shares rose. A total of 102 shares were unchanged.
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Telecom stocks edged higher. Reliance Communications (up 2.95%), Idea Cellular (up 2.94%) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (up 0.66%) edged higher. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 1.6%) edged lower.
Bharti Airtel was off 0.54% at Rs 343.50. The stock hit a high of Rs 350 and a low of Rs 340 so far during the day. Bharti Airtel and Africa's IHS Holdings (IHS) today, 2 September 2015, announced that that IHS has completed the sale and lease back of 949 towers in Zambia from Airtel Zambia (Airtel) under long term renewable contracts announced on 15 December 2014. Outsourcing tower infrastructure to IHS will allow Airtel Zambia to focus on its core business and customers and deleverage through debt reduction. It will also significantly reduce its ongoing capital expenditure on passive infrastructure.
FMCG stocks gained. Godrej Consumer Products (up 3.67%), Dabur India (up 3.69%), Tata Global Beverages (up 2.99%), Britannia Industries (up 2.39%), Marico (up 1.03%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (up 0.73%), GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.47%), Nestle India (up 0.36%) and Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 0.32%) edged higher. Bajaj Corp (down 2.43%), Jyothy Laboratories (down 1.11%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 0.18%) edged lower.
Shares of oil exploration & production firms were mixed after the government announced competitive bidding for small oil fields surrendered by ONGC and Oil India. Reliance Industries (up 1.32%) and Oil India (up 0.21%) edged higher. Cairn India (down 1.34%) and ONGC (down 1.69%) edged lower.
Under the new policy regime for small fields, the government will receive a share of the gross revenue from the sale of oil and gas from small oil fields. The new policy for small oil fields also allows the successful bidder to sell gas at the prevailing market price.
Meanwhile, hedge fund manager Jim Rogers has said in a media interview that he has sold his entire holding of Indian stocks because the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has failed to live up to investors' expectations.
Meanwhile, the government has announced that it has accepted the recommendation of the Justice A.P. Shah Committee not to levy minimum alternative tax (MAT) on stock market transactions of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) for the period prior to 1 April 2015. The latest announcement comes after the government in its February 2015 Budget announced that MAT will not be applicable for FIIs from 1 April 2015.
On the macro front, lower crude oil prices augur well for India. The country India imports about 80% of its crude requirements and a decline in crude eases concerns on fiscal deficit, inflation and gives more room for the government to boost growth through spending on infrastructure. However, a weakness in rupee against the dollar will restrict the benefit of falling global crude oil prices to that extent. A weak rupee raises the cost of imports.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for October settlement was currently off $1.04 a barrel at $48.52 a barrel. The contract had tumbled $4.59 a barrel or 8.47% to settle at $49.56 a barrel during the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 66.255, compared with closing of 66.215 during the previous trading session.
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