Sensex tanks 542 points dragged down by blue-chip stocks, foreign fund outflows
Mumbai, Jul 24 (PTI): Equity markets fell on Thursday, with the benchmark Sensex tumbling 542.47 points, amid profit-taking in blue-chip stocks and foreign fund outflows.
Despite a positive start, the 30-share BSE Sensex failed to carry forward the momentum and fell later in the trade. The benchmark tanked 542.47 points, or 0.66 per cent, to settle at 82,184.17. During the day, it tumbled 679.42 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 82,047.22.
As many as 2,410 stocks declined, while 1,645 advanced and 166 remained unchanged on the BSE.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 157.80 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 25,062.10.
From the Sensex firms, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Technologies, and NTPC were among the biggest laggards.
However, Eternal, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, and Titan were the gainers.
Infosys declined over 1 per cent amid profit-taking after its June quarter earnings announcement.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in positive territory.
European markets were quoting in the green. The US markets ended higher on Wednesday.
"Indian equities fell sharply today (Thursday), reversing previous gains despite positive global cues. Initial optimism around the India-UK free trade agreement gave way to caution as attention shifted firmly to earnings. The IT and FMCG sectors dragged down large-cap stocks due to subdued Q1 performance. Though the Q1 earnings are broadly in line, it does not justify the premium valuation..." Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
India and the UK on Thursday inked a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) that will cut tariffs on British whisky, cars, and an array of items, besides boosting bilateral trade by about USD 34 billion annually.
The deal was signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his British counterpart Jonathan Reynold in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Keir Starmer.
The FTA is expected to benefit 99 per cent Indian exports from tariff and will make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars, and other products to India, besides boosting the overall trade basket, according to Indian officials.
"Markets traded under pressure on the weekly expiry day, reversing Wednesday's gains and continuing the prevailing downtrend. After a flat start, the Nifty gradually moved lower, primarily weighed down by persistent weakness in IT majors following Infosys' results and profit booking in private banking stocks after their recent rally. As a result, the index declined by over half a per cent to close at 25,062.10," Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.50 per cent and midcap index dipped 0.43 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, BSE Focused IT dropped 2.27 per cent, IT (1.90 per cent), teck (1.54 per cent), FMCG (1.09 per cent) and realty (1.03 per cent).
Healthcare, auto and metal were the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,209.11 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. However, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 4,358.52 crore in the previous trade.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.24 per cent to USD 69.36 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped 539.83 points, or 0.66 per cent, to settle at 82,726.64. The Nifty gained 159 points or 0.63 per cent to settle at 25,219.90.
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TN seeks duty-free cotton imports to support textile sector: CM Vijay writes to PM
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove the import duty on cotton.
In his first letter to Modi after taking over as chief minister of the state, he said Tamil Nadu is the country’s largest textile and apparel exporting state.
Lakhs of people are dependent on this sector for both direct and indirect employment, especially women from rural and semi-urban backgrounds, Vijay pointed out.
Stating that the industry is facing a severe crisis due to an increase in cotton prices and consequently yarn prices, he said, “I understand this is caused primarily due to a shortage in cotton production and increased trading activity in the country.”
Pointing out that the price of cotton has increased from Rs 54,700 to Rs 67,700 per candy—an increase of 25 per cent over the last two months—while yarn prices have increased from Rs 301 to Rs 330 per kg, he said, “In this situation, the continued supply of raw material can be ensured only through imports.”
However, there is an import duty of 11 per cent on cotton, he said, adding that in such a situation, permitting duty-free cotton imports will help the industry meet increasing export commitments and remain globally competitive.
Vijay said that after agriculture, the textile and apparel sector is one of the largest employment-generating sectors.
“There is a significant responsibility on the government to safeguard the employment of lakhs of people and ensure the sustainability of the textile value chain," he said.
“Hence, I request your intervention to remove the import duty on cotton from the existing 11 per cent to 0 per cent to ensure the availability of raw material. This measure will enable the textile and apparel industry to remain globally competitive, enhance exports, and protect jobs,” he added.
