Sensex Ends 330 Points Lower Tracking Selloff in European Markets

The Sensex slumped as much as 420 points and the Nifty hit intraday low of 7,363.20 in the last hour of trade on Monday tracking selloff in European stock markets.

For the most part of the day, the Sensex and Nifty traded on a listless note as most of the stock markets in Asia were shut today on account of public holiday. However, late selloff in the Indian markets came after the European stock markets traded with deep cuts.

Britain's FTSE100 slumped as much as 1.97 per cent, Germany's DAX plunged 2.58 per cent and French CAC40 index slumped 2.65 per cent after positive US jobs data on Friday raised hopes of another interest rate hike as soon as March.

Back home, selling was visible across the sectors. IT, FMCG, oil & gas, healthcare, auto and power stocks were among the worst hit in trades today.

From the Nifty-50 basket of stocks, 37 stocks declined while 13 stocks advanced.

Tata Motors was the top loser in the Nifty. The stock closed 4 per cent lower at Rs 323.50. IndusInd Bank, Vedanta, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Wipro, Infosys, TCS, HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NTPC and Power Grid were also among the losers in the Nifty, down 1-3 per cent each.

The market breadth was negative as 1,478 stocks declined while 1,193 stocks advanced.

The Sensex closed 330 points lower at 24,287 and Nifty declined 102 points to end at 7,387.

3:27 p.m.: Oil & gas index slumps 1.45 per cent; Petronet LNG was the top loser from this space, down 3.62 per cent at Rs 254. ONGC, Bharat Petroleum, Cairn India, Oil India, Reliance Industries and Indian Oil were also among the losers, down 1-2.9 per cent each.

3:20 p.m.: The BSE IT index slumped nearly 2 per cent; heavyweights such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies were trading over 2 per cent lower.

3:18 p.m.: European markets were trading on a weak note; Britain's FTSE 100 was down 1.5 per cent, Germany's DAX fell 2 per cent and French CAC 40 index plunged 2.22 per cent.

3:15 p.m.: The selling pressure was visible across the sectors. IT, oil & gas, metal, auto and FMCG indices fell 1-2 per cent each.

3:10 p.m.: The late selloff in Indian markets has been attributed to weakness in European markets. Major European indices down over 1.5 per cent.

2:59  p.m.: Selling pressure accelerates in late trade. Sensex falls over 200 points while Nifty trades near 7,400. The broader markets also give up their gains. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices trade flat, after rising nearly 1 per cent earlier in the session.

2:46 p.m.: Selling intensified in the last one hour of trade. The Sensex fell 153 points to 24,463 and Nifty declined 49 points to 7,439 after selling in oil & gas, IT, healthcare and FMCG stocks picked up pace.

2:33 p.m.: Markets were witnessing selling pressure. The Sensex fell 59 points to 24,558 and Nifty slipped 17 points to 7,472.

2:18 p.m.: Worst is over for earnings, says, Ratnesh Kumar, independent market analyst.

1:52 p.m.: Broader markets were outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index advanced 0.80 per cent and the small-cap index jumped 0.9 per cent.

1:48 p.m.: Petronet LNG, ONGC, Bharat Petroleum, Oil India, Indian Oil and HPCL were among the losers from the oil & gas space, down 0.5-4 per cent each.

1:38 p.m.: Selling pressure visible in IT, healthcare, oil & gas and select FMCG stocks. BSE IT index slipped 0.78 per cent on the back of losses in Infosys, TCS and HCL Technologies.

1:25 p.m.: Geomteric reports net profit of Rs 28.96 crore on sales of Rs 313.26 crore in third quarter of current financial year. In the year ago period, company reported profit of Rs 16.37 crore on sales of Rs 287.40 crore. Shares surge 10.24 per cent to hit high of Rs 166.80.

1:17 p.m.: Shares of Precision Camshafts were off the day's low after making a weak debut today. 

Earlier in the day, shares of the auto component-maker had fallen as much as 17 per cent to Rs 155 against its issue price of Rs 186. Analysts cited expensive pricing for the weak listing of Precision Camshafts shares. 

However, at lower levels, the stock attracted strong buying, helping it recover from day's lows. At the issue price of Rs 186, Precision Camshaft shares were valued at 28 times their FY15 earnings per share, which was nearly 50 per cent premium to industry average, says Phillip Capital. (Read)

Watch video: Idea Cellular Can Fall to Rs 80: Mithil Pradhan

1:00 p.m.: Usha Martin was the top gainers from the small-cap space. The stock rallied 14 per cent to Rs 9.55. GTL Infra, Gujarat NRE Coke, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Intrasoft Technologies, Lanco Infratech and Lycos Internet were also up 11-13.85 per cent each.

12:45 p.m.: Divis Laboratories shares fell as much as 4 per cent to Rs 1,063.8 on Monday after the pharma major reported lower-than-estimated earnings for the October-December quarter. 

Divis Lab reported a net profit of Rs 247 crore on net sales of Rs 853 crore in its third quarter ending December 2015. Its net profit was 10 per cent lower than the Street's estimates while its revenue was 9 per cent below the consensus estimates, brokerage Religare said in a note to clients. (Read)

12:28 p.m.: The Sensex continued to trade on a flat note, up 36 points at 24,653 and 50-share Nifty advanced 12 points to reclaim its crucial psychological level of 7,500.

11:39 a.m.: 3M India, Procter & Gamble, Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Marico and GMR Infra were among the gainers from the mid-cap space, up 3.6-16 per cent each.

11:30 a.m.: Do not find any sector to take positions in at current levels, says Mithil Pradhan of Violet Arch Global Managers.

11:06 a.m.: Bank Nifty does not have any support till 12,500-12,700 there is no point to get into trading Bank Nifty at current levels: Mithil Pradhan

10:53 a.m.: The market breadth was marginally positive as 1,317 stocks were advancing while 715 were declining.

10:41 a.m.: Banking stocks were witnessing buying interest in trade today. The Bank Nifty was up 0.9 per cent at 15,292; Bank of India, Canara Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Federal Bank and ICICI Bank were among the gainers, up 1-4 per cent each.

10:30 a.m.: The Sensex and Nifty were moving in a narrow range in the morning deals. The Sensex so far touched high of 24,646.57 and low of 24,530.43 and the 50-share Nifty moved in the range of 33 points.

10.19 a.m.: Steel stocks gained on Monday after the government set a minimum price for imports on 173 steel products to protect the domestic industry from cheaper imports. Tata Steel, JSW Steel rose between 2-3 per cent. Banks having exposure to steel company also gained on this move. (Read full story here). 

9.52 a.m.: Sensex fell 86 points to 24,531, Nifty down 25 points at 7,465 led by losses in pharma shares. Cipla, Lupin Dr Reddy's Lab down between 0.9-2 per cent. 

9.30 a.m.: Tata Power was the top loser in Nifty, down 2 per cent at Rs 59.05. It reported 88 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 24.5 crore compared to Rs 198 crore in the year-ago quarter. Its revenues increased 9.4 per cent to Rs 9,329 crore. 

9.15 a.m.: Markets opened flat in the absence of cues from the Asian markets. The Sensex fell as much as 40 points to 24,573 and the Nifty fell nearly 15 points to 7,474. Metal and banking stocks were the prominent gainers on the index today with Tata Steel rising over 3 per cent followed by Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda, which rose over 2 per cent each. 

Jet Airways surged over 8 per cent to Rs 618 as it reported strong earnings for the December quarter. 

9.00 a.m.: Rupee opens lower at 67.85 per dollar against Friday's close of 67.64.  

8.30 a.m.: Nifty futures traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) were down 32 points or 0.43 per cent on Monday, indicating a lower opening for domestic stock markets. 

Steel stocks are likely to gain after the government set minimum import price for over 173 steel products to help protect domestic producers from cheap Chinese imports. The move is likely to improve the pricing power of domestic steel producers. 

Jet Airways reported a record profit of Rs 467 crore while its revenue grew 8 per cent to Rs 5,444 crore. Tata Power and Divis Lab will also react to their December quarter earnings. Companies like AIA Engineering, Ipca Lab, Polaris, Gujarat Gas report their numbers today. 

Sentiment is likely to be weak as foreign investors sold cash shares worth Rs 607 crore on Friday. Domestic investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 760 crore. 

Lack of global cues may restrict the market movement today, as most of the Asian markets except Japan are shut today. 

On Friday, the Dow closed down 1.29 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index lost 3.25 per cent. US markets came under a selloff on concerns that there could be another interest rate hike as soon as March. 

(With agency inputs)