Markets declined as investors remained cautious over murky global outlook and expectations that the Reserve Bank of India would continue to hike rates after better than expected industrial output data.
The Nifty opened in the green and touched a high of 5,195 tracking firm global cues. The index wilted under selling pressure after the industrial output data came in higher than expected; stoking expectations that RBI may continue with its tightening process. The index made a low of 5,053 in the noon session. The Nifty finally closed at 5,073, down 65 points and the Sensex ended at 16,818, down 241 points (provisional).
------------------------Updated at 14:40 hours
The Industrial Output data for June was reported at 8.8%, higher than expected 5.5%, raising concerns that the RBI would hike rates by another 25 bps in September as growth in the short-term remained sturdy. The IIP data was much higher than 5.6% reported in May.
Markets in Asia ended a volatile week on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.5%, South Korea's Kospi Composite fell 0.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.1% and China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.5%.
Back in India, BSE Banking index was the top loser, down 1.6%. Top losers from the banking space were. State Bank of India slipped 3%, HDFC Bank was down 2.6% and Federal Bank declined 2.5%.
BSE IT index slipped 2.7% after the small rebound seen mid-week. TCS fell 3.5%, Infosys dipped 3% and Wipro was off 8%.
Market breadth was negative, 1,457 stocks declined for 1,248 stocks which advanced.
