Key equity indices extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 160.76 points or 0.44% at 36,066.38. The Nifty 50 index was down 60.35 points or 0.55% at 10,870.10.
India's manufacturing economy recorded an improvement in growth during September amid firmer gains in new orders, output and employment. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) strengthened slightly in September to reach a level of 52.2 (up from 51.7 in August). Solid growth of the manufacturing sector during the latest survey period extended the current run of expansion to 14 months.
Broader market slumped. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.74%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 2.19%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 513 shares rose and 1854 shares fell. A total of 107 shares were unchanged.
Car major Maruti Suzuki India was down 0.58%. The company said its total sales fell 0.5% to 162,290 units in September 2018 over September 2017. Total domestic sales rose 1.4% to 153,550 units while total exports fell 25.1% to 8,740 units during the period under review. The figures were disclosed during trading hours today, 1 October 2018.
Bajaj Auto was down 0.45%. The company said its total motorcycle sales rose 17% to 430,939 units in September 2018 over September 2017. Total commercial vehicles sales rose 20% to 71,070 units in September 2018 over September 2017. The figures were disclosed during trading hours today, 1 October 2018.
Ashok Leyland was down 2.23%. The company said its total sales rose 26% at 19,373 units in September 2018 over September 2017. The figures were disclosed during trading hours today, 1 October 2018.
Pharmaceutical shares fell across the board. Wockhardt (down 4.36%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 3.27%), Strides Shasun (down 1.43%), Cadila Healthcare (down 1.42%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.39%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 1.28%), Lupin (down 1.26%), Piramal Enterprises (down 1.18%), IPCA Laboratories (down 0.59%), Cipla (down 0.51%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.34%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.34%), Alkem Laboratories (down 0.25%) and Divi's Laboratories (down 0.07%), edged lower.
Most IT shares rose as the rupee weakened against the dollar in early trading. MindTree (up 2.12%), TCS (up 1.74%), Infosys (up 1.67%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 1.31%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.91%), Wipro (up 0.85%) and HCL Technologies (up 0.59%), edged higher. MphasiS (down 0.56%), Hexaware Technologies (down 1.48%) and Persistent Systems (down 2.36%), edged lower.
A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar in early deals. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 72.78, compared with its close of 72.49 during the previous trading session.
Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading higher on Monday. The Chinese and Hong Kong markets are closed today.
Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced on the back of the release of a survey conducted by the Bank of Japan which showed business confidence among the country's big manufacturers falling for the third consecutive quarter.
On Sunday, the release of data showed growth in China's manufacturing sector slowing down in September, with both external and domestic demand weakening. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index which focuses on small and medium-sized firms in China fell to 50.0 in September from 50.6 in August.
The data comes as the US-China trade war continues to escalate, with new tariffs imposed between the two countries on 24 September 2018 and Washington threatening to slap tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports into the United States.
In US, stocks closed mostly unchanged for the session on Friday after economic data painted a mixed picture of the economy.
On the economic front, consumer spending rose 0.3% in August, the slowest pace since February. Personal income also rose by 0.3%. The 12-month increase in the PCE index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, fell to 2.2% from 2.3%.
The Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index fell to a five-month low 60.4 in September. A reading of consumer sentiment came in at 100.1 in September.
Meanwhile, the United States and Canada have reportedly reached an agreement on a framework North American Free Trade Agreement deal. The new agreement framework involves offering more dairy access to US farmers, as well as Canada agreeing to a side-letter arrangement effectively capping automobile exports to the United States, the reports said.
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