Selling pressure pulls Nifty lower

Despite positive global cues and a huge inflow of foreign funds, the Indian equity markets closed with losses for the second consecutive session today.

Investors’ sentiments were subdued on the back of a marginally weak rupee and heavy selling pressure witnessed in metal, oil and gas, and automobile stocks.

According to market observers, investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy review on Thursday, and the assembly elections results on Saturday.

The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) slipped by 22.60 points or 0.25 per cent, to 8,924.30 points.

The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 29,021.06 points, closed at 28,902.79 points — down 96.77 points or 0.33 per cent from the previous close at 28,999.56 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 29,022.32 points and a low of 28,815.48 points during the intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bears — with 1,797 declines and 1,021 advances.

In terms of broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index edged lower by 0.56 per cent, while the small-cap index slipped by 0.31 per cent.

On Tuesday, the NSE Nifty fell by 16.55 points or 0.18 per cent, to close at 8,946.90 points, and the BSE Sensex was down 48.63 points or 0.17 per cent at 28,999.56 points.

“Markets ended lower today after some intra-day volatility for the second consecutive session ahead of the assembly elections exit poll outcome. Mid-caps fell a little more than the frontline indices,” Deepak Jasani, Head – Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

“However, major Asian markets ended on a positive note, and the European indices like FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX too traded higher.”

On the currency front, Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, explained that recovery in USD/INR futures prices pressurised the price movement of the equity markets in the second half of the session.

“Most sector stocks traded with mixed sentiments and faced resistance at higher levels due to profit booking,” Desai pointed out.

The Indian rupee weakened by three paise to 66.70 against a US dollar from its previous close of 66.67 to a greenback.

In contrast, there was a substantial amount of inflow of foreign funds in the equity markets.

Provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 3,573.04 crore, whereas the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) divested scrip worth Rs 1,735.12 crore.

“Reflecting the trend in global markets, the Indian market opened flat but slipped within an hour. State election results also played on punters’ mind who preferred to stay on the sidelines,” Vijay Singhania, founder and Director of brokerage firm Trade Smart Online, asserted.

Commenting on the sector-specific movement, Singhania said: “China’s warning of a slowdown did not go well with commodity prices globally, as a result of which metal stocks in India saw selling pressure. Metal index closed the day 1.92 per cent lower, the weakest among all sectors.”

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE metal index plunged by 228.26 points, followed by the oil and gas index, which dipped by 188.34 points, and the automobile index, which fell by 103.89 points.

On the other hand, the S&P BSE banking index rose by 37.98 points, the healthcare index was up by 32.37 points, and the finance index inched up by 6.18 points.

Major Sensex gainers today were: State Bank of India (SBI), up 0.62 per cent at Rs 269.70; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), up 0.53 per cent at Rs 2,513.90; Cipla, up 0.40 per cent at Rs 589.95; Power Grid, up 0.39 per cent at Rs 195.30; and HDFC Bank, 0.38 per cent at Rs 1,391.45.

Major Sensex losers were: Tata Steel, down 1.89 per cent at Rs 472.90; ONGC, down 1.78 per cent at Rs 192.75; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), down 1.30 per cent at Rs 1,302.70; Infosys, down 1.22 per cent at Rs 1,007.25; and Gail, down 1.18 per cent at Rs 517.65.

In the cash segment FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 3573 crores (includes  2230 crs of Kotak bank deal) and DIIs net sellers to the tune of  Rs  1,735 crores.

FII positions in Index puts, futures and calls.

(With agency inputs)