Negative global cues, disappointing results drag equities lower

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SME Times News Bureau | 20 Jan, 2017
Negative global cues, along with disappointing quarterly results and a weak rupee, dragged the Indian equities markets lower on Friday.

Besides, investors remained cautious ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

The key indices opened on a negative note and consistently traded in the red to close with losses of around one per cent each.

The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) receded by 85.75 points or 1.02 per cent, to 8,349.35 points.

The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 27,232.69 points, closed at 27,034.50 points -- down 274.10 points or 1.00 per cent from the previous close at 27,308.60 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 27,264.41 points and a low of 27,009.81 points during the intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears -- with 1,893 declines and 817 advances.

On Thursday, the benchmark indices closed on a flat-to-positive note. The NSE Nifty rose by 18.10 points or 0.22 per cent, to 8,435.10 points, while the BSE Sensex was up 50.96 points or 0.19 per cent.

"Markets ended sharply lower on Friday. Selling pressure intensified after the Nifty support of 8,375 was broken," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

"Major Asian markets ended on a mixed note, while European indices like FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX traded higher."

In terms of broader markets, the mid-cap and small-cap stocks underperformed the benchmark indices.

The BSE mid-cap index fell by 1.54 per cent, while the BSE small-cap index was down 1.27 per cent.

According to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, with the Union Budget approaching, investors are taking profits 'off the table'.

"The USD got stronger during the day's trade which indicated that the market is expected to remain weak in the next couple of trading sessions," Desai said.

"There is no further trigger for market to rally, and so lack of trigger and the pre-budget rally gave opportunity for traders to book profits."

In addition, the Indian rupee weakened by six paise to 68.19 against a US dollar from its previous close of 68.13 to a greenback.

In terms of investments, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold stocks worth Rs 26.34 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) divested scrip worth Rs 175.48 crore.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE banking index plunged by 388.10 points, followed by the metal index, which fell by 270.68 points, and the consumer durables index, which slipped by 226.83 points.

On the other hand, the S&P BSE FMCG index rose by 8.64 points and the telecom index inched up by 2.72 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Friday were: Bharti Airtel, up 1.31 per cent at Rs 320.70; Asian Paints, up 0.60 per cent at Rs 965.80; ITC, up 0.59 per cent at Rs 255.45; Dr Reddy's Lab, up 0.24 per cent at Rs 2,946.40; and HDFC Bank, up 0.15 per cent at Rs 1,236.65.

Major Sensex losers were: Axis Bank, down 6.86 per cent at Rs 450.50; Adani Ports, down 3.59 per cent at Rs 284.40; State Bank of India (SBI), down 2.83 per cent at Rs 251; Tata Steel, down 2.68 per cent at Rs 454.60; and ICICI Bank, down 2.34 per cent at Rs 263.40.