Key benchmarks ended the volatile session modestly lower as losses in energy stocks offset gains in IT shares. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 205.95 points or 0.60% to 33,861.45, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 52.45 points or 0.51% to 10,198.40, as per the provisional closing data. The Sensex settled below 34,000 mark.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.96%. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.95%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1482 shares rose and 1077 shares fell. A total of 150 shares were unchanged.
Oil sector stocks declined. Among public sector oil marketing companies, HPCL (down 4.59%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 3.58%), edged lower.
BPCL lost 4.31% after net profit dropped 48.3% to Rs 1218.71 crore on 34.56% rise in total income to Rs 72829.83 crore in Q2 September 2018 over Q2 September 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 29 October 2018. BPCL's average gross refining margin (GRM) was $5.57 per barrel in Q2 September 2018, compared with $5.57 per barrel in Q2 September 2017.
Among oil exploration and production companies, ONGC (down 1.39%), Oil India (down 1.95%) and Reliance Industries (down 2.62%), edged lower.
IT stocks rose. Infosys (up 2.52%), TCS (up 1.30%) and Tech Mahindra (up 2.97%), edged higher. Wipro fell 0.03%.
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India's finance minister Arun Jaitley reportedly criticised the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for failing to prevent lending excess in a speech on Tuesday. The central bank looked the other way when banks gave loans indiscriminately during 2008 to 2014, Jaitley reportedly said while speaking at an event in New Delhi. According to media reports, tensions between the finance ministry and the RBI have risen since the bank's deputy governor said in a speech on Friday that undermining a central bank's independence could be "potentially catastrophic", in an indication that it is pushing back hard against government pressure to relax its policies and reduce its powers.
On the economic front, India and Japan signed a bilateral currency swap agreement on Monday, 29 October 2018, for up to $75 billion during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tokyo. Under the arrangement, India can acquire dollars from Japan in exchange for rupees. The agreement would help bring greater stability to foreign exchange and capital markets in India. This arrangement would also further help India tap foreign capital for the country's development needs. This facility will enable the agreed amount of foreign capital being available to India for use as and when the need arises.
Overseas, most European stocks were trading lower on Tuesday, as investors monitored earnings. Fears of a sharp escalation in the trade war between the world's two largest economies spooked investors.
Most Asian shares ended higher. US stocks closed lower Monday in a volatile session as concerns about global growth resurfaced following a news report that suggested that the US is about to intensify its trade war with China.
President Donald Trump's administration is prepared to announce tariffs on remaining Chinese imports if talks next month between Trump and Xi Jinping do not yield results, the media reported. Such a move is expected to hurt the global economy.
On the US data front, consumer spending rose 0.4% in September. Incomes rose a smaller 0.2%, the smallest rise in 13 months, while inflationary pressures appeared to slacken. The personal-consumption expenditures inflation index, the Federal Reserve's favorite price gauge, rose 0.1% in September, while the 12-month rate slipped to 2% from 2.2%.
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