Sensex Drops Over 200 Points, Nifty Struggles Near 10,720: 10 Things To Know

NDTV Profit Team

03 Jan 2019, 01:35 PM IST

Share market updates: Selling by institutional investors weighed on equities, according to analysts

At 1:22 pm, the Sensex traded 192.26 points or 0.53 per cent lower at 35,699.26, and the Nifty was at 10,723.60, down 68.90 points or 0.63 per cent from the previous close.
Top laggards on the 50-scrip index were Eicher Motors, ONGC, Tech Mahindra Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil, trading between 2.40 and 3.51 per cent lower. Prominent gainers on the index were Bharti Infratel, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki India, trading between 0.53 and 2.23 per cent higher.
Prominent losers on the 30-scrip benchmark index were ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel, trading between 1.51 per cent and 3.05 per cent lower. ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, HCL Tech, Asian Paints and Maruti Suzuki India - trading between 0.38 per cent and 0.62 per cent higher - were among the main gainers on the index.
Markets turned volatile ahead of corporate earnings scheduled to begin next week, analysts said, adding that heavy selling by foreign as well as domestic investors weighed on equities.
"People are waiting for triggers," said Jayant Manglik, president, retail distribution, Religare Broking. "Issues on the global front for the next few weeks will have to be watched," he said, while expressing optimism about corporate earnings.
Software services majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys are set to report their earnings during the October-December quarter next week.
Telecom stocks also fell on Thursday after the industry regulator released monthly data. Shares of Vodafone Idea hit their lowest in three weeks, dropping as much as 5.2 per cent while shares in Bharti Airtel fell 1.5 per cent. Shares in Mahanagar Telephone Nigam fell up to 6.7 per cent.
Shares of state-run Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank tumbled, a day after the Cabinet approved their merger with Bank of Baroda. The Bank of Baroda board also announced a share swap ratio for the merger.
Asian shares, on the other hand, wobbled on Thursday after a rare revenue warning from Apple Inc added to worries about slowing global growth and weaker earnings. MSCI's broadest gauge of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4 per cent after an early attempt at a bounce.
On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 621.06 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of equities to the tune of Rs 226.18 crore, provisional data available with the NSE showed. (With inputs from agencies)