Bombay Stock Exchange(Photo;Maeeshat)
Mumbai:(IANS) The prevailing logjam in parliament coupled with prospects of a US rate hike and the decline in oil and gas stocks subdued Indian equity markets, leading a barometer index to shed 220 points on Tuesday.
Initially, both the bellwether indices of the Indian equity markets opened on a negative note following their Asian peers.
Besides, prospects of a US rate hike prompted a selling frenzy among foreign investors and continued weakness in rupee’s value depressed investors.
In addition, oil and gas, energy and power companies’ stocks fell after a dip in global crude oil prices.
Weak Chinese macro economic data further dented sentiments and commodity prices.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) shed 220 points or 0.86 percent during the day’s trade.
Similarly, the wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed in the red. It closed lower by 63.70 points or 0.82 percent at 7,701.70 points.
The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 25,488.42 points, closed at 25,310.33 points — down 219.78 points or 0.86 percent from the previous day’s close at 25,530.11 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 25,542.47 points and a low of 25,256.79 points during the intra-day trade.
Markets observers said that the investors’ sentiments were subdued due to the logjam in parliament, which has dimmed the prospects of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill getting passed during the winter session.
“The parliament’s logjam is a major dampener for the markets as it reduces the chances of the GST bill getting passed this session,” Anand James, co-head, technical research desk with Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS.
“The upcoming US rate hike, continued selling by the foreign investors in the Indian markets and the slump in oil prices which negatively impacted stock prices of oil and gas companies thinned investor participation,” he said.
Vaibhav Agrawal, vice president, research, Angel Broking, told IANS: “Markets ended in the red, led by weak global cues on account of weak Chinese data and lower oil prices, aggravating the slowdown concerns.”
“Metals and upstream (oil) companies continue to drag the benchmark indices led by the commodity weakness.”
The Indian rupee too came in for a beating. It closed weaker by 12 paise at 66.84 to a US dollar during the day’s trade from its previous close of 66.72 to a greenback.
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers during the day’s trade at the stock exchanges, whereas the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers.
According to data with stock exchanges, FIIs sold stocks worth Rs.518.46 crore, while DIIs bought scrip worth Rs.590.32 crore.
Sector-wise, heavy selling was observed in metal, capital goods, healthcare, oil and gas and banking sectors.
The metal index plunged by 234.73 points, capital goods index receded by 209.22 points, healthcare index declined by 201.93 points, oil and gas index dwindled by 198.38 points and banking index was lower by 165.41 points.
Major Sensex gainers during Tuesday’s trade were Tata Motors, up 0.74 percent at Rs.401.90; Bajaj Auto, up 0.55 percent at Rs.2,462.45; ITC, up 0.53 percent at Rs.315.20; and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), up 0.23 percent at Rs.2,329.50.
The major Sensex losers were Gail, down 5.05 percent at Rs.339.50; Vedanta, down 4.60 percent at Rs.87.10; Hindalco Industries, down 4.35 percent at Rs.75.90; Tata Steel, down 3.61 percent at Rs.234.75; and ONGC, down 3.57 percent at Rs.216.10.