Indices cut losses in mid-morning trade after an early slide. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 192.68 points or 0.53% at 36,077.39. The Nifty 50 index was down 56.50 points or 0.52% at 10,831.85. Today's slide was led by fall in index pivotals HDFC Bank, HDFC and Infosys. IT stocks saw mixed trend. Local stocks were weighed by weakness in Asian stocks.
Domestic stocks dropped in early trade on weak Asian stocks. Stocks extended initial losses and hit fresh intraday low in morning trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.04%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.24%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1093 shares rose and 1040 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.
HDFC Bank (down 1.24%), HDFC (down 1.18%) and IndusInd Bank (down 1.17%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
IT stocks saw mixed trend. Infosys (down 2.14%), Wipro (down 1.87%), TCS (down 0.59%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.81%) and MindTree (down 2.87%) fell. HCL Technologies (up 0.67%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.53%), Hexaware Technologies (up 1.31%) and Mphasis (up 0.79%) declined.
Ashoka Buildcon rose 3.71% after the company announced a Rs 150 crore investment commitment into its city gas distribution (CGD) business Unison Enviro ("UEPL") by Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure ("MSII''). UEPL builds and operates CGD networks across cities and towns in India. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 17 December 2018.
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading lower on Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street as traders braced for an interest rate hike by Federal Reserve. US equity indexes slid to their lowest close in 14 months on Monday as investors weighed the impact of the Fed on growth in a market already anxious over trade, geopolitical tensions and a possible government shutdown.
The Federal Reserve holds its final policy meeting of 2018 on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to raise its short-term interest rate by a modest quarter-point to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. Investors are closely watching the Federal Reserve monetary policy guidance for 2019. The central bank forecasts three more rate hikes in 2019, but softer global growth could cause a shift in its hawkish stance. The Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision is due Thursday, followed by a briefing from Governor Haruhiko Kuroda. A Bank of England decision is also due on Thursday.
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