Stock markets close lower amid caution ahead of Q1 earnings; IT, oil shares drag
Mumbai, Jul 9 (PTI): Stock markets closed lower on Wednesday due to selling in IT and oil & gas shares as investors turned cautious ahead of the start of earnings season and mixed global trends.
Dragged by late selling, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 176.43 points or 0.21 per cent to settle at 83,536.08. During the day, it lost 330.23 points or 0.39 per cent to 83,382.28.
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 46.40 points or 0.18 per cent to end at 25,476.10.
From the Sensex firms, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.
Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement and Power Grid were among the gainers.
"Indian key indices remained largely range-bound, while domestic consumption themes continued to anchor investor sentiment. Despite global trade tensions and commodity tariffs, investor focus is increasingly shifting toward domestic earnings and structural growth drivers, including a likely sequential recovery in urban demand and a pickup in infrastructure-led spending," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The US has extended the suspension of its April 2 reciprocal tariffs until August 1.
Shares of mining giant Vedanta dropped 3.38 per cent to end at Rs 440.80 on the BSE after US short seller Viceroy Research released a report charging billionaire Anil Agarwal's mining conglomerate to be "financially unsustainable" and posing a severe risk to creditors.
Viceroy said it was shorting the debt stack of Vedanta Resources, the parent company and majority owner of Mumbai-listed Vedanta Ltd, as it released the 85-page report.
Responding to the report, Vedanta in a statement said, "The report is a malicious combination of selective misinformation and baseless allegations to discredit the Group".
"Markets traded in a volatile but in a narrow range and ended marginally lower, extending the ongoing consolidation phase. While the tariff-related concerns linger, the focus now shifts to the earnings season, with IT major, TCS, scheduled to announce its results on Thursday, July 10," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
The BSE SmallCap gauge climbed 0.45 per cent while midcap index dipped 0.05 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas dropped the most by 1.41 per cent. Metal (1.41 per cent), realty (1.40 per cent), BSE Focused IT (0.80 per cent), teck (0.71 per cent) and IT (0.67 per cent) were among the losers.
FMCG, auto, consumer durables, services, consumer discretionary and dinancial services were the gainers.
"Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Wednesday as caution persisted amid uncertainty around the India–US trade deal and the kick-off of the Q1 earnings season," Gaurav Garg, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index settled higher while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower.
European markets were trading higher.
The US markets ended on a flat note on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.51 per cent to USD 70.51 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 26.12 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 1,366.82 crore.
On Tuesday, the Sensex rose by 270.01 points or 0.32 per cent to settle at 83,712.51. The Nifty climbed 61.20 points or 0.24 per cent to close at 25,522.50.
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HC says Bhojshala complex is Goddess Saraswati temple, scraps ASI order on namaz on premises
Indore (PTI): In a big win for the Hindu side, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday declared that the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, and the Centre and ASI can decide on its administration and management.
The HC's Indore bench, which was hearing the case, also said the Muslim community, which called the 11th century monument Kamal Maula Mosque, may approach the state government for allotment of separate land in the district for construction of a mosque.
In its much-awaited verdict in the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex dispute, the court observed that there were indications of a Sanskrit teaching centre and a temple of Goddess Saraswati existing in Bhojshala.
The religious character of the disputed complex of Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque indicates it is a temple of Goddess Saraswati, noted the HC.
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"If the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society applies for land allotment for building a mosque in Dhar district, the state government can consider it," maintained the division bench.
The HC scrapped the 2003 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order which allowed Muslims to offer Friday prayers on Bhojshala premises.
Nearly 1,200 police personnel were deployed in and around the complex ahead of the HC ruling.
Dhar Collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena warned of strict action against anyone spreading objectionable content on social media, as the administration erected barricades at the site where Friday prayers coincided with the court verdict.
The long-running dispute pertains to the religious nature of the ASI-protected monument in Dhar district.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala to be a temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim side calls the monument Kamal Maula Mosque. A petitioner from the Jain community claims the disputed complex is a medieval Jain temple and gurukul.
After the controversy over the Bhojshala complex erupted, the ASI issued an order on April 7, 2003, permitting Hindus to worship at the complex every Tuesday and Muslims to offer namaz there every Friday. The Hindu side challenged the order in the HC, seeking exclusive rights to worship at the complex.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi of the HC's Indore bench began regular hearings on five petitions and one writ appeal related to the case on April 6 this year.
After hearing all the parties against the backdrop of differing religious beliefs, historical claims, complex legal provisions, and thousands of documents related to the disputed monument, the bench had reserved its decision on May 12.
During the hearing, petitioners from the Hindu, Muslim, and Jain communities presented detailed arguments and sought exclusive worship rights for their communities at the monument.
The ASI, after conducting a scientific survey of the monument, indicated in its over 2,000-page report that a massive structure dating back to the reign of the Parmar kings of Dhar predated the mosque, and that the current disputed structure was built using repurposed temple components.
The Hindu side claimed that coins, sculptures, and inscriptions found by the ASI during its scientific survey prove the complex was originally a temple.
However, the Muslim side argued in court that the ASI's survey report was "biased" and prepared to support the claims of the Hindu petitioners.
Refuting this, the ASI told the court the scientific survey process was carried out with the help of experts, including three from the Muslim community.
The HC had ordered the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex on March 11, 2024. The ASI began the survey on March 22 that year and, after a detailed 98-day survey, submitted its report to the High Court on July 15.
