Sensex Snaps 3-Day Winning Streak, Ends 114 Points Lower

Sensex and Nifty fell on Wednesday, ending their three-day winning streak, as investors booked profits in banking, oil & gas, IT and healthcare stocks.

Nifty fell as much as 0.43 per cent on Wednesday after rising more than 2 per cent in the last three sessions.

"I don't think there is any weakness in the market; it's a pure technical correction and normal profit-booking," said R.K. Gupta, managing director, Taurus Asset Management, adding the next big trigger would probably be the corporate earnings.

The Sensex ended 0.4 per cent or 114 points lower at 28,220.98 and Nifty fell 0.29 per cent or 25 points to settle at 8,743.95.

Banking stocks were among the worst hit in trades today on the back of profit booking. The Bank Nifty declined 0.7 per cent; weakness was seen in ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank and HDFC Bank.

IT stocks also witnessed selling pressure with Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies closing in the red.

From the Nifty basket of shares, 31 ended lower while 20 ended higher.

Tata Motors, BPCL, Bharti Infratel, L&T and Eicher Motors were among the gainers in the Nifty.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices advanced over 0.5 per cent each.

3:23 p.m.: Stock markets were trading near intraday low levels. Sensex was down 132 points at 28,203 and Nifty was at 8,738, down 31 points.

2:57 p.m.: Broader markets outperform the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices advance over 0.5 per cent each.

2:50 p.m.: Tata Motors, Hindalco, UltraTech Cement, Eicher Motors, BPCL, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Power were among gainer in the Nifty.

2:09 p.m.: Nifty 8,700 put option was the most active options contract on the NSE. The premium on the contract fell 6 per cent to Rs 77.55, as many as 3.67 lakh shares were added to the open interest of over 4 million shares.

1:58 p.m.: Market breadth was positive on the BSE as 1,660 stocks were advancing while 1,040 were declining.

1:47 p.m.: Alembic Pharma shares surged as much as 6 per cent on Wednesday after the drug firm received the Establishment Inspection Report from the US health regulator for its formulation facility located at Panelav in Gujarat. 

"The company's formulation facility located at Panelav has received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the inspection carried out by them in March 2016," Alembic Pharmaceuticals said in a BSE filing. 

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1:21 p.m.: Metal stocks witness buying interest. The BSE Metals index was up 0.78 per cent; Vedanta, Jindal Steel, Hindalco, NALCO, Hindustan Zinc and NMDC were among the gainers.

12:47 p.m.: HDFC Bank, Infosys, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top Sensex decliners.

12:27 p.m.: Stock markets extended losses in the noon deals. Sensex fell over 100 points to hit intraday low of 28,218 and Nifty was down 28 points at 8,741.

12:10 p.m.: Shares of Bharat Forge Ltd fell as much as 4.65 per cent to hit intraday low of Rs 881 after reports surfaced which suggested that its sales of Class 8 trucks fell by nearly a third in the US.

As per reports, Bharat Forge's Class 8 truck orders in US fell 27 per cent to 13,800 units in September 2016 posting worst sales in the month of September after 2009.

11:44 a.m.: Banking stocks were also witnessing selling pressure. The Bank Nifty fell 0.38 per cent or 75 points to 19,597; Axis Bank was the top loser from this space, down 1.2 per cent to Rs 540. IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were also among the laggards.

11:02 a.m.: The market breadth was marginally positive as 1,344 stocks were advancing while 943 were declining.

10:56 a.m.: The broader market were trading on a subdued note. The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up around 0.2 per cent each. Bharat Forge was the top loser from the mid-cap space, down 1.7 per cent at Rs 910. HPCL, Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Finserv, CRISIL, United Breweries and Glenmark were also among the laggards.

10:45 a.m.: IT and oil & gas stocks were among the worst hit in trades so far. The Nifty IT index was the top sectoral loser, down nearly 1 per cent; HCL Technologies was the top loser from this space, down 1.15 per cent to Rs 809. Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, OFSS and Tata Elxsi were among the laggards, down 0.5-1.15 per cent each.

9:52 a.m.: Stock markets edged lower amid choppy trading in morning deals. Sensex slipped as 19 points to 28,316 and Nifty declined 13 points to 8,757.

9:34 a.m.: Sensex rose nearly 150 points and the broader Nifty moved above its crucial psychological level of 8,800 in opening deals but soon turned choppy on the back of selling pressure in select oil & gas and IT stocks.

As of 9:23 a.m., the Sensex was up 58 points or 0.2 per cent at 28,393 and Nifty was at 8,778, up 0.1 per cent or 9 points.

Buying interest was seen in metal, realty, power and banking shares. At the same time, select oil & gas and IT stocks were witnessing a mild selling pressure.

From the Nifty basket of shares, 37 were advancing while 14 were declining.

Hindalco was the top gainer in the Nifty, up 1.7 per cent at Rs 157. State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Power Grid, Tata Power, Idea Cellular, HUL, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were also among the gainers.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, Bharat Petroleum, Infosys, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ONGC and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.

The broader markets edged higher in morning trades. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices were up around 0.5 per cent each.

8:35 a.m.: Sensex is likely to edge higher while the broader Nifty may open above 8,800 as indicated by the Nifty futures traded on the Singapore Exchange.

The Nifty futures traded on the Singapore Exchange was up 0.13 per cent or 11 points at 8,805.

Meanwhile, most of the Asian markets were trading on a positive note. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.57 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.64 per cent and Shanghai Composite was up 0.2 per cent.

Overnight, U.S. stocks dropped as investors fretted about Britain's exit from the European Union and the prospect of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in coming months.

Pound Sterling slid to its lowest in more than three decades after British Prime Minister Theresa May said the country's divorce from the EU will not be "plain sailing" and that there would be "bumps in the road."

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.47 percent to end at 18,168.45 and the S&P 500 lost 0.5 percent to 2,150.49. 

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.21 percent to 5,289.66. 

Back home, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 344 crore in cash market on Tuesday while, domestic institutional investors were net sellers to the tune of 172 crore.

Shares of steel manufacturers such as SAIL, Jindal Steel, JSW Steel and Tata Steel will be in on investors' radar after the government extended a floor price for imports of steel products for a further two months late on Tuesday as it tries to protect the domestic industry from cheap overseas shipments, especially from China.

The floor price, or the minimum import price, was introduced for six months in February, the first time the government had taken such a step in more than 15 years. It was extended from its initial expiry in August to October 4.

Bharat Forge will also be closely watched after reports suggested that its class 8 truck orders in U.S. fell by 27 per cent to 13,800 units in September 2016. This is the worst September since 2009 for Bharat Forge and approximately 20 per cent of operating profit or EBITDA for the company comes from this segment.

(With inputs from Reuters)