Selling continued unabated as key benchmark indices hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 513.12 points or 1.55% at 32,493.15. The Nifty 50 index was down 160.15 points or 1.58% at 9,954.60. The Sensex was trading below the psychological 33,000 mark. The Nifty was trading below the psychological 10,000 mark. The Sensex hit its lowest intraday levels in more than 21 weeks. The Nifty hit its lowest intraday levels in 24 weeks. Cement and telecom shares declined.
Domestic equity market reacted negatively, in-line with global markets, as trade war intensified. US President Donald Trump ordered at least $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports and China announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion of imports from the US.
Key indices hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade after opening with a negative bias. The Sensex fell 519.44 points, or 1.57% at the day's low of 32,486.83 in early afternoon trade, its lowest intraday level since 23 October 2017. The index fell 316.12 points, or 0.96% at the day's high of 32,690.15 in early trade. The Nifty fell 162.85 points, or 1.61% at the day's low of 9,951.90 in early afternoon trade, its lowest intraday level since 6 October 2017. The index fell 101.90 points, or 1.01% at the day's high of 10,012.85 in early trade.
Broader market witnessed major selling pressure. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 2.13%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 2.41%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was quite weak. On BSE, 2,184 shares fell and 283 shares rose. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.
Cement shares declined. UltraTech Cement (down 2.01%), ACC (down 1.45%) and Ambuja Cements (down 1.03%), edged lower.
Grasim Industries down 2.91%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Telecom shares declined. MTNL (down 3.76%), Idea Cellular (down 3.35%), Reliance Communications (down 2.73%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 2.73%) and Bharti Airtel (down 1.82%), edged lower.
Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was up 1.15%.
Shares of Bharat Dynamics, a leading defence public sector undertaking company, were trading at Rs 386.55, at a discount of 9.68% to its issue price of Rs 428 per share on its debut on the bourses today, 23 March 2018. Shares of Bharat Dynamics listed at Rs 360 on BSE, a discount of 15.89% to its issue price. The stock had hit a high of Rs 402.80 and a low of Rs 360 so far during the day. On the BSE, 4.49 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far. The initial public offer (IPO) of state-run defence equipment maker Bharat Dynamics that concluded last week saw a subscription of 1.3 times. The price band for the issue had been fixed at Rs 413 to Rs 428 per share.
Overseas, Asian markets slumped on Friday, tracking sharp falls in US stocks, which took a hit on fears of a trade war. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 4.66%.
In China, Shanghai Composite was down 3.58%. China, as a retaliation to US President Donald Trump's tariff plans, announced for reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion of imports from the US. Such imports include US pork, recycled aluminium, steel pipes, fruits and wine. China will also pursue legal action against the US at the World Trade Organization in response to the US planned tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and called for dialog to resolve the dispute. This is a response to Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports to compensate for alleged intellectual property abuses by China.
US stocks fell sharply on Thursday, with major indices suffering their worst day in weeks as the threat of a trade war with China sparked a widespread selloff.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum on Thursday that would impose retaliatory tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese imports. The new measures are designed to penalise China for trade practices that the Trump administration says involve stealing American companies' intellectual property. They will primarily target certain products in the technology sector where China holds an advantage over the US. Investors are concerned that protectionist trade policies could be met with retaliatory measures by major trading partners, and that a trade war could contribute to inflation in the economy.
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