Equity markets fall in early trade after 6-day rally
Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Tuesday due to emergence of profit-taking in-tandem with a weak trend in global equity markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 292.95 points to 84,658 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 83.3 points to 25,930.15.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Larsen & Toubro were among the major laggards.
However, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and Adani Ports were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading sharply lower.
US markets ended in negative territory on Monday.
"Tuesday may bring pockets of volatility due to weekly F&O expiry and soft global cues, yet the broader tone stays constructive, buoyed by political stability, cooling inflation, soft crude, trade-deal optimism and FII buying," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The first phase of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) is "nearing closure" and would address the hefty 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Indian goods, in addition to resolving America's market access issues, a government official said on Monday.
The US has imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and another 25 per cent on Indian goods entering American markets for buying Russian crude oil.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 442.17 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 1,465.86 crore in the previous trade.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.47 per cent to USD 63.90 per barrel.
Rallying for the sixth consecutive day on Monday, the Sensex climbed 388.17 points, or 0.46 per cent, to close at 84,950.95. The Nifty edged higher by 103.40 points, or 0.40 per cent, to settle at 26,013.45.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
