Key benchmark indices continued to languish in the red in early afternoon trade. At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 98.20 points or 0.38% at 25,953.61. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 32.95 points or 0.41% at 8,000.35. The Sensex continued to trade below the psychological 26,000 mark after falling below that mark in early trade. The Nifty was trading tad above the psychological 8,000 level after slipping below that mark in early trade. Investors fear that upbeat US economic data strengthened the prospect for higher US interest rate raising fear that higher interest rates in the US will spark capital outflows from the emerging equity markets.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,261 shares rose and 988 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently down 0.29%. The decline in this index was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.12%, outperforming the Sensex.
Shares of most power generation and power distribution companies edged lower. NTPC (down 2.25%), Tata Power Company (down 0.36%), Adani Power (down 1.22%), Reliance Infrastructure (down 3.86%) and Reliance Power (down 1.89%) declined. Torrent Power (up 1.07%), GVK Power & Infrastructure (up 6.43%), and NHPC (up 1.54%) gained.
Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) shed 0.47%. The company said that a meeting of committee of directors for bonds is planned to be held on 28 November 2016, to consider issue of secured, redeemable, non-convertible, non-cumulative, taxable bonds under private placement. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 23 November 2016.
Shares of state-run coal miner Coal India declined 0.18%.
Pharma stocks declined. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.48%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 1.87%), Cipla (down 0.16%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.06%), Cadila Healthcare (down 1.99%), Lupin (down 0.83%), Divi's Laboratories (down 2.72%), and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.85%) declined.
In overseas stock markets, most Asian stocks dropped as upbeat economic data strengthened the prospect for higher US interest rate. Investors fear that higher interest rates in the US will spark capital outflows from the emerging equity markets. US stocks closed mixed yesterday, 23 November 2016, as investors digested a number of economic data, including minutes from the Federal Reserve's November meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 indices hit record closing high. The minutes released yesterday, 23 November 2016, back the consensus view on Wall Street that the Fed is poised to raise rates in December. Policymakers left borrowing costs unchanged earlier this month, just days before Republican Donald Trump triumphed in the November 8 presidential contest. Voting members of the Fed's rate-setting committee saw equal risks the economy would overshoot or undershoot their forecasts for continued growth and a tightening labor market. Almost all of them continued to judge that near-term risks to the economic outlook were roughly balanced, according to the minutes. The US stock market will remain closed today, 24 November 2016, because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
US weekly jobless claims increased 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 251,000 for the week ended 19 November 2016, the Labor Department said. The claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 90 straight weeks. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said US durable goods increased 4.8% in October, well above a consensus estimate. Other data released included the IHS Markit manufacturing index for November, which showed a slight increase to 53.9 from 53.4 in October. A reading above 50 signals expansion within the sector. New home sales for October fell 1.9%, while consumer sentiment came in at 93.8, above estimate.
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