Weak rupee, global cues depress equity indices; rupee ends below 69 per dollar
Mumbai, July 19: Depreciation in the Indian rupee and domestic political uncertainty subdued the key Indian equity indices on Thursday.
In a major development, the rupee breached the 69 per dollar mark during the day, eroding investor sentiments in the equity market.
According to market analysts, decline in the major global markets also weighed on the Indian indices.
Index-wise, the wider Nifty 50 on the National Stock Exchange closed at 10,957.10 points, lower by 23.35 points and 0.21 per cent from the previous close of 10,980.45 points.
The barometer 30-scrip BSE Sensex, which had opened at 36,509.08 points, closed at 36,351.23 points -- lower by 22.21 points or 0.06 per cent -- from its previous session's close of 36,373.44 points.
It touched an intra-day high of 36,515.58 points and a low of 36,279.33 points. The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,802 declines against 791 advances.
"Market was range bound with a negative bias due to weakening rupee on account of surge in dollar index and ongoing trade spat," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
The rupee ended at 69.05 per dollar, weakening by 42 paise, from the previous close of 68.63 per greenback.
Nair further said that global cues are not clearly supporting domestic market direction and trade tensions between the US and other major economies are keeping investors on edge.
HDFC Securities' Head of Retail Research at Deepak Jasani said investors seemed to be "cautious ahead of a parliament debate on Friday, July 20, 2018 about a no-confidence motion" against the current NDA government.
Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrip worth just Rs 315.69 crore and the domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 470.02 crore.
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE consumer durables index gained the most, by 194 points, followed by the FMCG index, up 58.32 points and the energy rose by 27.30 points.
On the contrary, the S&P BSE capital goods index declined by 316.94 points, the healthcare index was down 170.96 points and the banking index fell by 115.35 points.
The major gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel, up 2.45 per cent at Rs 345.05; Vedanta, up 2.21 per cent at Rs 208.30; Yes Bank, up 1.93 per cent at Rs 391.20; ITC, up 1.71 per cent at Rs 272.90; and Adani Ports, up 1.39 per cent at Rs 369.15 per share.
The top losers were Kotak Mahindra Bank, down 3.69 per cent at Rs 1,350.25; Larsen and Toubro, down 2.61 per cent at Rs 1,255.55; Hero MotoCorp, down 1.22 per cent at Rs 3,458.90; Tata Steel, down 0.98 per cent at Rs 499.75; and Coal India, down 0.95 per cent at Rs 261.50 per share.
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.
TN youth from UAE has tested negative for Mpox: Health Minister Subramanian
Chennai, Nov 2: A 27-year-old native of Thiruvarur district, who had arrived from Sharjah, has tested negative for monkey pox, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said here on Saturday.
Test results from both the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here and the Pune-based National Institute of Virology have show negative for Mpox virus, the minister said.
Subramanian had earlier in the day told reporters that result was awaited for the sample that had been dispatched to the NIV while test result from King Institute ruled out monkey pox.
On October 31, upon his arrival at Tiruchirappalli airport from the UAE, during screening, the young man displayed fever symptoms and small skin lesions. Hence, he was taken to a government hospital.
Subramanian said the returnee had been frightened and hence left for his hometown of Valangaiman in Thiruvarur district. "This treatment is for his good and in order to prevent the spread of infection," the minister said.
Hence, he was brought back to the hospital by the authorities with police help and he has been receiving good treatment at the state-run facility. Further, Subramanian said that the test result from the government-run King Institute indicated Chickenpox and marked negative for presence of Mpox.
Screening at airports for passengers arriving from foreign countries is going on continuously in the state and international airports have dedicated isolated rooms.
Special wards are ready in government medical college hospitals, including those in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli, to provide treatment for Mpox, in case anyone tests positive for the infection, the minister added.
