Key equity indices corrected after gains in past four trading sessions. Profit selling emerged after private weather forecaster, Skymet, predicted below normal monsoon rains this year. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 179.53 points or 0.46% to 38,877.12, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 69.25 points or 0.59% to 11,643.95, as per the provisional closing data. The Sensex ended below 39,000 mark and the Nifty ended below 11,700 mark.
According to Skymet Weather, monsoon in 2019 is likely to be 'below normal' to the tune of 93% (with an error margin of +/-5%) of the long period average (LPA) of 887 mm for the four-month period from June to September. The monsoon is considered 'normal' if the average rainfall is between 96 and 104% of the long-period average (LPA). Anything less than 90% is 'deficient', while 90-95% is 'below normal'. Between 105 to 110% is 'above normal' and beyond 110 is 'excess'.
Indices opened higher and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade amid positive global cues. Benchmarks pared gains in mid-morning trade and turned range bound in afternoon trade. Indices sharply pared gains in mid-afternoon trade and hit fresh intraday low in late trade.
Broader market witnessed selling. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.77%. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.87%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 1020 shares rose and 1583 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.
Yes Bank (down 2.53%), State Bank of India (down 2.24%), Larsen & Toubro (down 2.16%), Bharti Airtel (down 1.85%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.69%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.53%) and ICICI Bank (down 1.33%), were the major Sensex losers.
Maruti Suzuki India (up 2.84%), HCL Technologies (up 1.44%), HDFC (up 0.96%), Tata Steel (up 0.73%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (up 0.58%), were the major Sensex gainers.
Infosys fell 0.36%. EdgeVerve Systems, a subsidiary of Infosys, has been selected by Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait to automate the bank's operational processes using the AssistEdge RPA platform. Ahli United Bank is one of the pioneering banks in Kuwait to innovate its banking operations using RPA. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 April 2019.
Vodafone Idea fell 5.92% at Rs 15.90. The stock hit a record low of Rs 15.85 in intraday today, 3 April 2019.
Shares of the three state-run oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) fell after Brent crude prices firmed up in international market. HPCL (down 5.23%), BPCL (down 4.36%) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) (down 2.81%) declined.
Higher crude oil prices could increase under-recoveries of PSU OMCs on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for May 2019 settlement was up 42 cents at $69.79 a barrel. The contract rose 36 cents, or 0.52% to settle at $69.37 a barrel during the previous trading session.
Overseas, shares in European and Asia edged higher on Wednesday, as market participants monitored signs of progress in US-China trade talks. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline in order to break the logjam in Parliament.
The US and China are set to resume trade negotiations in Washington on Wednesday, following last week's talks in Beijing. Ahead of the meeting, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the two countries "expect to make more headway" in this week's talks. Both economic powerhouses are closer to reaching a deal, according to media reports.
In US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed with small gains on Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended in the red.
In economic reports, a report on long-lasting factory goods, or durable goods, in February showed a 1.6% decline, the Commerce Department said.
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