Key equity indices trimmed losses in early afternoon trade. At 12:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 147.42 points or 0.39% at 37,721.81. The Nifty 50 index was down 40.95 points or 0.36% at 11,388.55. Trading sentiment took a hit as global cues turned weak on back of rout in Turkish currency.
Overseas, Asian shares tumbled on Monday after investor sentiment took a hit amid the slump in the Turkish currency, lira, on geopolitical developments. US stocks dropped on Friday, triggered by fears over the sell-off in the lira after US President Donald Trump said he had approved the doubling of metals tariffs against Turkey on Friday.
The lira's decline was the latest sign of turmoil in international economies, particularly emerging markets. The currency tumbled on worries over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's increasing control over the economy and deteriorating relations with the United States.
Among secondary barometers in the domestic market, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.19%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.40%, outperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 940 shares rose and 1484 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.
Most cement shares declined. Ambuja Cements (down 1.6%), ACC (down 1.5%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.88%), edged lower.
Grasim Industries was up 1.61%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Most telecom shares declined. Idea Cellular (down 2.67%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 1.15%) and MTNL (down 0.96%), edged lower. Bharti Airtel (up 0.46%) and Reliance Communications (up 0.62%), edged higher.
Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was down 1.21%.
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was up 0.54%. Buildings & factories business of L&T Construction has bagged an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) order worth Rs 3028 crore from GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL). The scope of work includes execution and implementation of EPC for expansion of the Terminal Building and Airside Infrastructure Works at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, Telangana. This is a brownfield airport expansion project to be handed over within a stringent timeline. The order reiterates L&T's EPC capabilities in building brownfield airport infrastructure. The expansion will increase the airport's capacity to handle 34 million passengers per annum (MPPA). L&T had earlier constructed the existing Hyderabad International Airport. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 13 August 2018.
On the economic front, India's industrial production growth rebounded to five month high of 7% in June 2018, while recovering from a seven-month low of 3.9% in May 2018. The industrial production growth for May 2018 has been revised upwards from 3.2% increase reported provisionally.
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