Sensex Falls Over 100 Points On Selloff In Pharma, IT Stocks

Sensex fell over 100 points while the broader Nifty closed below its crucial psychological level of 8,750 on the back of selling pressure in banking, IT and pharma stocks.

The Sensex fell 115 points to close at 28,106 and Nifty declined 34 points to settle at 8,710.

For most part of the day, the Sensex and Nifty traded on a positive note in a narrow range. However, late selling in banking, IT, pharma, auto and capital goods stocks dragged the benchmark indices into the negative territory.

Pharma stocks were among the worst hit in trades today, the BSE Healthcare index declined 1 per cent. Banking, realty, power and auto indices also ended on a weak note.

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

Bank of Baroda was the top Nifty loser, down 3 per cent to Rs 164. NTPC, Cipla, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, ITC, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank and Aurobindo Pharma were also among the losers.

On the other hand, energy stocks witnessed buying in today's session. Reliance Industries, GAIL India, BPCL and ONGC were among the gainers in Nifty up 1-3.5 per cent each after oil prices rose to their highest in international markets since June on Wednesday.

The broader markets ended on a weak note on account of profit-booking. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices fell 0.5 per cent each.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,531 stocks ended lower while 1,342 closed higher.

2:54 p.m.: Broader markets fall on profit booking. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices declined nearly 1 per cent each.

2.40 p.m.: Selling in banking, auto and IT stocks pulled down the benchmark indices further. The Senex was down nearly 150 points while the Nifty traded below the 8,700 mark. Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank and Mahindra and Mahindra were among the prominent losers in the Nifty50 index.

2:17 p.m.: Banking stocks were witnessing volatile moves as weekly derivative contract of Bank Nifty will expire later in the day. The Bank Nifty was down 0.52 per cent or 101 points at 19,436; Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank and Federal Bank were among the losers.

2:14 p.m.: From the Nifty basket of shares, 33 were down while 18 were advancing. Zee Entertainment was the top Nifty loser, down 2.5 per cent to Rs 553. Bank of Baroda, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Ambuja Cements and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

2:05 p.m.: Sensex and Nifty extended losses in the late noon deals as selling pressure was visible across the sectors barring oil & gas and few metal shares. Sensex was down 115 points at 28,106 and Nifty was at 8,710, down 33 points.

1:41 p.m.: Stock markets edged lower in afternoon deals on the back of weakness in IT, banking and pharma stocks. The Sensex declined 27 points to 28,195 and Nifty fell 8 points to 8,736.

12:30 p.m.: Metal stocks were also witnessing buying interest. The BSE Metal index was up 1.15 per cent; Vedanta, Hindalco, NMDC, Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Hindustan Zinc were among the gainers.

12:09 p.m.: Oil & Gas stocks continue to witness strong buying interest. The BSE Oil & Gas index surges nearly 4 per cent; Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, HPCL, Reliance Industries, ONGC and GAIL India were among the gainers.

11:44 a.m.: IT stocks continue to witness selling pressure. The BSE IT index was down 0.54 per cent; Infosys, HCL Technologies, TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Mindtree were among the laggards.

11:18 a.m.: Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited jumped as much as 11 per cent to hit intraday high of Rs 4.55 ahead of meeting of the company's board today to consider proposals to lower debt. 

Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited informed BSE post market hours on Wednesday that "meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on October 06, 2016, inter alia, to consider the recommendations of committee of directors (for restructuring) regarding proposals of restructuring including divestment of one or more units and review the progress made in the reduction of company's debt."

10:39 a.m.: Stock markets were trading in a rangebound fashion. Sensex was up 69 points at 28,290 and Nifty was at 8,765, up 21 points.

10:09 a.m.: The overall market breadth was positive as 1,463 stocks were advancing while 595 were declining on the BSE.

10:01 a.m.: Oil & Gas stocks were witnessing good buying interest. The BSE Oil & Gas index advances 2.5 per cent; Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Reliance Industries, ONGC, HPCL, GAIL India and IGlL were among the gainers.

9:53 a.m.: Stock markets recovered from intraday low levels led by gains in heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Tata motors and L&T. Sensex was up 100 points at 28,321 and Nifty was at 8,774, up 30 points.

9:48 a.m.: Banking stocks recover from intraday low levels. The Bank Nifty which declined nearly 0.5 per cent, recovered from low levels on the back of gains in Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank.

9:33 a.m.: Sensex rose over 100 points and 50-share Nifty moved above its crucial psychological level of 8,750 in the opening deals but soon turned flat owing to weakness in banking and IT shares.

As of 9:20 a.m., Sensex traded 31 points or 0.1 per cent higher at 28,252 and Nifty was up 6 points at 8,750.

Banking, IT and real estate stocks were witnessing selling pressure in opening trades. Bank Nifty declined 0.42 per cent and the PSU Bank index on the NSE declined 0.6 per cent. At the same time, buying interest was seen in oil & gas shares.

From the banking space, Yes Bank was the top loser, down 2.6 per cent to Rs 1,245. Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank were also among the laggards.

From the Nifty basket of shares, 32 were advancing while 19 were declining.

Aurobindo Pharma was the top Nifty gainer, the stock advanced 1.67 per cent to Rs 881 on reports that the company would bid for Teva's UK and Irish portfolio.

Bharti Infratel, Reliance Industries, ONGC, GAIL India, Tata Motors, HUL and Grasim Industries were also among the gainers.

On the other hand, Yes Bank, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Infosys, Coal India, Dr Reddy's Labs and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.

The broader markets were outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index advanced 0.36 per cent and the small-cap index advanced 0.5 per cent.

8:30 a.m.: Sensex and Nifty are set to open higher in trades today tracking gains on the Nifty futures traded on the Singapore Exchange.

Nifty futures traded on Singapore Exchange also known as the SGX Nifty traded 0.17 per cent or 15 points higher at 8,785.

Meanwhile, other Asian markets were trading on a firm note encouraged by stronger US economic data and a rise in oil prices, while growing prospects of a U.S. rate hike hit gold and the boosted the dollar to one-month highs versus the yen.

Japan's Nikkei was up 0.57 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.25 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI jumped 0.22 per cent.

Overnight, US stock indexes gained on Wednesday, boosted by financial shares amid encouraging economic data and by the energy sector as oil prices surged to June highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 112.58 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 18,281.03. The S&P 500 gained 9.24 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 2,159.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 26.36 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5,316.02.

Back home, foreign institutional investors bought cash shares worth Rs 243 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors were net sellers to the tune of Rs 350 crore.

Shares of Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Infrastructure will be on investors' radar after the company on Wednesday signed an agreement to sell its power transmission assets to Adani Group for over Rs 2,000 crore.

Reliance Infrastructure owns two electricity transmission lines spanning Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, and has a 74 per cent stake in another one in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Jindal Steel and Power said on Wednesday it had not made interest payments due on some of its non-convertible debentures, underscoring the size of the debt-laden company's woes.

In a filing on Wednesday, it listed 11 debentures on which interest was due on September 30 but had not been paid.

Meanwhile, GM Breweries and Goa Carbon will come out with their second quarter numbers later in the day and will be closely watched by market participants.

(With inputs from Reuters)