Stock markets tumble in early trade amid weak global cues, FII outflows
Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell sharply in early trade on Tuesday in line with weak global cues, continuous foreign fund outflows and selling pressure in IT stocks and Reliance Industries.
Investor sentiment also turned cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting outcome, which is expected to provide cues on the interest rate trajectory.
The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged by 636.22 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 84,466.47 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty depreciated by 193.25 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 25,767.30.
Among the Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, HCL Technologies, Infosys and UltraTech Cement were the laggards.
Bharti Airtel and Hindustan Unilever were the only gainers in the morning trade.
The US Federal Reserve is set to begin its two-day policy meeting later on Tuesday, where the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will decide on key benchmark interest rates for the world's largest economy.
The outcome will be announced on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 655.59 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 2,542.49 crore, according to exchange data.
"Despite hopes pinned on a potential US Fed cut on December 10, sentiment remains fragile with FIIs continuing to sell, the rupee weakening towards 90/USD, and global cues turning softer," Prashanth Tapse , Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, South Korea's KOSPI and Shanghai's SSE Composite index were trading in the negative territory while Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was quoting in the green zone.
The US markets ended lower in overnight deals on Monday as investors turned cautious ahead of the Fed meeting.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.21 per cent to USD 62.36 per barrel.
On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged by 609.68 points to close at 85,102.69.
Snapping a two-day gaining streak, the 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 225.90 points to settle at 25,960.55.
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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.
