Key benchmark indices continued trading with steep losses in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 423.37 points or 1.16% at 36,008.30. The Nifty 50 index was down 131.35 points or 1.20% at 10,820.35. The Sensex was trading above the psychological 36,000 mark after briefly sliding below that level in morning trade.
Domestic stocks turned positive soon after opening lower on negative Asian stocks. Volatility ruled the roost as the key benchmark indices dropped in morning trade. Stocks extended slide in mid-morning trade on fresh selling. Shares continued trading with steep losses in afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 1.14%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was off 0.60%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 839 shares rose and 1531 shares fell. A total of 136 shares were unchanged.
Tata Motors (up 1.53%), NTPC (up 0.60%), Coal India (up 0.24%) and Tata Steel (up 0.18%), were the major Sensex gainers.
Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.43%), Infosys (down 2.02%), Asian Paints (down 1.87%), ICICI Bank (down 1.75%), Reliance Industries (down 1.43%) and TCS (down 1.33%), were the major Sensex losers.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel shed 0.77%. Bharti Airtel's board approved sale of up to 59.18 crore equity shares, representing 32% stake of Bharti Infratel owned by the company to its arm Nettle Infrastructure Investments. After the deal, Bharti Airtel will own 18.33% stake in its Infratel arm and Nettle Infrastructure Investments and the public will hold 35.18% and 46.49%, respectively.
Further, the board formed and authorised 'special committee of directors for fund raising' to comprehensively explore/evaluate various options of fund-raising for the company to strengthen its capital structure and balance sheet and place the final recommendation before the board for its approval/final decision. Separately, the Bharti Airtel board Thursday named Badal Bagri as the company's new CFO, who will replace global CFO Nilanjan Roy, who has resigned. The announcements were made after market hours yesterday, 20 December 2018.
Overseas, most Asian stocks reversed early losses Friday. US stocks closed sharply lower Thursday with investors rattled after the Federal Reserve's interest-rate policy and fresh concerns of a partial government shutdown undercut buying appetite.
Meanwhile, fears over a potential partial government shutdown intensified after reports that President Donald Trump told House Republicans he would refuse to sign an appropriations bill passed by the Senate that would avert a shutdown, unless both houses of Congress agree to appropriate $5 billion in extra funds for expansion of the US southern border wall.
On the macro front, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released the results of its monthly regional survey of manufacturers, with the index showing a reading of 9.4, down from 12.9 in November.
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