Benchmark indices have extended the losses weighed down by metal and auto shares. Investors remain cautious ahead of the September index of industrial production data and inflation based on the Consumer Price Index due for release later today.
At 14:15 PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 83 points at 20,408 and the 50-share Nifty was down 23 points at 6,055. The Sensex and Nifty have touched the intra-day low of 20,380 and 6,053 mark, respectively.
Adds Pritesh Mehta, Senior Technical Analyst, India Infoline Ltd,” With Nifty closing near day’s low in yesterday’s session and also retracing 38.2% of the previous upmove which we had from 5700 to 6340. Nifty appears to be losing momentum with the formation of Three Black Crows on the daily candlestick. If 6070 is taken out in today’s trade then we can go down to 5900. So as a trader then, I would think of creating shorts in this market on every rise, because bias is on the short side.”
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The dollar rallied to a seven-week high against the yen, extending gains after a surprise rise in US October jobs growth on Friday, which has raised the prospect of the Federal Reserve reducing its stimulus drive sooner than thought. The greenback also kept pressure on emerging Asian currencies.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1% in a choppy session.
Back home, the rupee weakened against the US dollar ahead of CPI and Sep IIP data due later today slipping to 63.61 versus its prior close of 63.24 Dollar demand from custodian banks is also pushing up the USD/INR pair.
On the sectoral front, BSE Metal, Auto, Power, PSU and Oil & Gas indices have declined by 1% each. However, BSE Realty, FMCG and Healthcare indices have gained by nearly 1% each.
The main losers on the Sensex at this hour include Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Power, Tata Steel, ONGC, Coal India, GAIL and BHEL, all falling down between 1-4%.
There was little festive cheer for car makers in October with domestic sales declining by 3.88%, snapping a two-month streak of positive growth as the sector continue to reel under weak macro-economic conditions.
Motorcycle manufacturers, however, had reasons to celebrate in October, posting the highest sales volume in a single month since industry body SIAM started collating data in 1997-1998, riding on strong rural demand.
According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger car sales in October stood at 1,63,199 units as against 1,69,788 in the same month last year.
On the gaining side, Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC gained 0.84% to Rs 319.65, off day's low of Rs 317.
Hindalco Industries rose 2.2% ahead of its Q2 result today, 12 November 2013.
The market breadth in BSE turns weak with 1,239 shares declining and 1,004 shares advancing.