Key equity benchmarks drifted lower in early trade as profit booking emerged on the bourses after six straight days of gains. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 122.78 points or 0.34% at 36,118.22. The Nifty 50 index was down 26.70 points or 0.25% at 10,857.05. Most Asian stocks fell.
Data showing that local funds were net sellers of Indian stocks also weighed on the sentiment. The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 293.12 crore yesterday, 3 December 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 806.45 crore yesterday, 3 December 2018, as per provisional data.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.05%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.16%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 677 shares rose and 575 shares fell. A total of 61 shares were unchanged.
Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower, signaling fading investor applause for the US-China trade truce. US stocks rallied yesterday, 3 December 2018 after the US and China declared a truce in their trade war.
Back home, Axis Bank shed 0.23%. With reference to a news item titled "I-T dept probing Axis Bank staff for allegedly facilitating benami deals," the bank clarified after market hours yesterday, 3 December 2018, that the matter reported in certain sections of the media pertains to a complaint received by the bank in March 2018, referring to incidents of an earlier period. An internal inquiry in this regard has already been conducted by the bank. In case there are any queries from the income tax authorities in the said matter, the bank, as always, shall fully co-operate with the concerned authorities. The bank has always adhered to the highest standards of regulatory compliance and will continue to work towards maintaining a strict code of conduct in all spheres of business that it undertakes, it said.
NMDC fell 0.36%. NMDC reduced prices of high grade iron ore (lumps) by Rs 300 to Rs 3550 per tonne for the current month. The state-run firm has also cut the prices for iron ore fines, which are inferior grade ore, by Rs 200 to Rs 3,110 per tonne for December 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 December 2018.
NCC rose 0.34%. NCC said it received two new orders totaling to Rs 220.20 crore (exclusive of GST) in November 2018. Out of this, one order of Rs 174.20 crore pertains to electrical division and one order of Rs 46 crore pertains to water division. These orders are received from state government agencies and do not include any internal orders. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 December 2018.
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