Stock markets in choppy waters; Sensex drops 368 points dragged by bank shares
Mumbai, Aug 12 (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower in a highly volatile trade on Tuesday dragged down by blue-chip bank stocks and caution ahead of domestic and US inflation data.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 368.49 points or 0.46 per cent to settle at 80,235.59. During the day, it hit a high of 80,997.67 and a low of 80,164.36, gyrating 833.31 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty went lower by 97.65 points or 0.40 per cent to 24,487.40.
Investors are also awaiting cues from the US-Russia talks on August 15.
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Trent, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.
However, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra and NTPC were among the major gainers.
"The national market reacted with volatility to the ongoing developments in global trade tariffs, reflecting caution following the extension of the US-China tariff truce and ahead of key inflation data due later today. The US inflation figures with any signs of tariff-related impact could influence the Fed's policy stance," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
The BSE midcap gauge dipped 0.25 per cent and smallcap index edged marginally up by 0.04 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, bankex dropped 0.83 per cent, capital goods (0.76 per cent), realty (0.75 per cent), telecommunication (0.46 per cent) and FMCG (0.44 per cent).
Oil & gas, healthcare, metal, utilities, IT and BSE Focused IT were the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi settled lower while Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended in positive territory.
European markets were trading on a mixed note.
The US markets ended lower on Monday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18 per cent to USD 66.75 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,202.65 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
On Monday, the Sensex jumped 746.29 points or 0.93 per cent to settle at 80,604.08. The Nifty climbed 221.75 points or 0.91 per cent to 24,585.05.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
