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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pak, Afghan forces trade fire along Chaman border: Report
Islamabad (PTI): A heavy exchange of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces was reported from the key Chaman border, according to a media report on Saturday.
Injuries were reported from the district hospital, but no fatalities occurred, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Officials from both sides accused each other of instigating the flare-up late on Friday night across the border in the Balochistan province.
While Pakistani officials said that Afghan forces had fired mortar shells on the Badani area, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed it was Pakistan that launched an attack on Spin Boldak, alleging that their forces were responding.
Pakistan's official sources told Dawn that Pakistani forces retaliated against the Afghan aggression and returned fire.
There were also reports of fighting on the Chaman-Kandahar highway, but these could not be immediately verified.
A senior official in Quetta confirmed on condition of anonymity that the exchange of fire started around 10 pm and continued until late at night.
The medical superintendent of Chaman district hospital said that three injured, including a woman, were brought to the medical facility.
There was neither any official word from the Inter-Services Public Relations -- Pakistan Army's media wing -- nor from the Foreign Office.
The Chaman border crossing, also known as Friendship Gate, connects Balochistan province to Afghanistan’s Kandahar.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated amidst regular allegations by Pakistan regarding the failure of the Afghan regime to deny safe havens to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists.
The two countries had agreed on a ceasefire following tensions last month, but the Foreign Office said last month that technically there was no truce as it was contingent on the Afghan Taliban stopping terrorist attacks in Pakistan, which they had failed to do.
