Stock markets close lower for 2nd day; IT stocks fall after US rating downgrade
Mumbai, May 19 (PTI): Benchmark BSE Sensex dropped by 271 points on Monday, marking the second straight day of losses due to selling in IT and banking stocks and a weak trend in global markets after rating downgrade of the US by Moody's Ratings.
The 30-share BSE barometer declined 271.17 points or 0.33 per cent to settle at 82,059.42. During the day, it dropped 366.02 points or 0.44 per cent to a low of 81,964.57.
The NSE Nifty dipped 74.35 points or 0.30 per cent to 24,945.45.
Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, HCL Tech and Adani Ports were the laggards.
Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, State Bank of India and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.
Among sectors, realty, pharma, and auto shares advanced while IT declined by over a percent.
"Markets languished in negative territory for major part of the trading session as weak Asian and European indices resulted in investors resorting to profit-taking in IT, capital goods and oil & gas shares," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
Also Moody's downgrading US credit rating by a notch over the weekend created some sort of uncertainty amongst investors, Tapse added.
"Indian equity markets extended their losses for a second consecutive day on Monday, dragged down by a combination of weak global cues, sharp selling in IT stocks, and rising volatility," Gaurav Garg, Analyst, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.
Investor sentiment took a hit after Moody’s downgraded the US sovereign credit rating to 'Aa1', citing the nation’s surging USD 36 trillion debt, he said.
"Global markets echoed this nervousness. Asian and European equities traded mostly lower..." Garg added.
The broader market witnessed a mixed performance as the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.75 per cent and midcap index ended up by 0.27 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, BSE Focused IT declined 1.33 per cent, IT (1.23 per cent), teck (1.07 per cent), oil & gas (0.32 per cent), telecommunication (0.24 per cent) and capital goods (0.16 per cent).
Realty jumped 2.22 per cent, healthcare (0.58 per cent), utilities (0.42 per cent), auto (0.41 per cent), power (0.36 per cent) and financial services (0.32 per cent).
Among Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled lower while Shanghai's SSE Composite index ended higher.
European markets were trading lower. US markets ended in positive territory on Friday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.41 per cent to USD 65.14 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,831.05 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
On Friday, the Sensex declined 200.15 points or 0.24 per cent to settle at 82,330.59. The Nifty dropped 42.30 points or 0.17 per cent to 25,019.80.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
