Key benchmarks once again slipped into negative terrain and hit fresh intraday low in afternoon trade. At 13:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 92.27 points or 0.24% at 38,966.56. The Nifty 50 index was down 39.30 points or 0.34% at 11,564.80.
Trading was volatile on account of weekly index options expiry today. Traders watched the Maharashtra and Haryana state assembly poll results with caution.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.67%. The Small-Cap index was down 0.08%.
The market breadth turned negative. On the BSE, 990 shares rose and 1239 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged. In the Nifty, 19 stocks advances while 31 stocks declined.
On the political front, the Election Commission (EC) is set to declare the results for the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections. EC began the counting of votes at 8:00 IST and the final results will be declared by the evening.
Trends emerging from the counting of votes suggested a hung Assembly in Haryana as BJP is struggling to meet the majority mark. BJP seems to be falling short of its "75-plus seats" target in Haryana. While Congress is leading on 34 seats, BJP is ahead on 37 seats. Jannayak Janta Party was leading on 9 seats and won 1 seat.
In Maharashtra, official trends showed BJP leading in 98 constituencies and won 3 seats, Shiv Sena leading in 58 constituencies and won 2 seats, NCP leading in 57 constituencies and Indian National Congress in 43. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the 50:50 formula of ruling decided on before elections will be followed.
Voting in Maharashtra's 288 constituencies and Haryana's 90 constituencies was held on 21 October. In Maharashtra, 61.3% voters turned up to cast their vote while the voter turnout in Haryana was 68.31%.
Telecom shares were trading mixed as the sector barometer, the BSE Telecom index fell 6.72% to 885.45.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel was down 3.54% to Rs 347.75. Vodafone Idea was down 14.16% to Rs 4.85.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favour of the government on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) issue, with grave revenue implications to the tune of over Rs 92000 crore for the ailing telecom sector.
Grasim Industries was down 6.32% to Rs 696.20. Grasim Industries has exposure to the telecom sector via its 11.55% stake in Vodafone Idea.
Aurobindo Pharma slipped 0.66% to Rs 473.10. The drug maker announced that the company has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture Guaifenesin extended-release tablets, 600 mg and 1200 mg (OTC). Aurobindo's Guaifenesin extended-release tablets are the AB rated generic equivalent of RB Health (US) LLC's Mucinex tablets. The product is expected to launch in Q4FY20.
Cummins India fell 1.60% to Rs 569.45. The consolidated net profit fell 10.61% to Rs 182.93 crore on a 11.24% fall in income from operations to Rs 1297.30 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.
Castrol India surged 5.89% to Rs 142. The standalone net profit jumped 25.3% to Rs 188.40 crore on a 8.4% decline in net sales to Rs 849.20 crore in Q3 September 2019 over Q3 September 2018.
In a separate announcement, Castrol India informed about the appointment of Mr. Sandeep Sangwan as an Additional director and the managing director for a period of five years with effect from 1 January 2020.
Further, in accordance with a letter received from Castrol, U.K., Mr. Mark Josceline will cease to be a nominee director on the board of Castrol India with effect from the close of business hours on 6 December 2019.
Overseas, European stocks opened higher Thursday as corporate earnings season gathers pace. Traders remain in limbo over an expected delay to the U.K.'s departure from the European Union. Investors, meanwhile, look ahead to the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.
Asian stock markets were also trading higher as bullish sentiments engulfed the world markets with Japanese index, Nikkei hitting a year-high during the afternoon trade.
Corporate earnings buffeted trading as investors remained anxious about the business impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war while Brexit uncertainties kept overall sentiment in check.
U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors shrugged off lackluster quarterly reports from industrial bellwethers Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc.
EU member states on Wednesday delayed a decision on whether to grant Britain a three-month Brexit extension. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said if the deadline is deferred to the end of January, he would call an election.
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