Sensex In The Red, Nifty Loses 11,000 Level; Pharma Stocks Fall Over 2%

NDTV Profit Team

16 Jul 2018, 10:20 AM IST

Market Updates: The S&P BSE Sensex opened at 36,658.71 while the Nifty 50 started at 11,018.95.

The domestic stock markets opened the first day of the week on Monday on a slightly negative note following weak global cues. The S&P BSE Sensex opened at 36,658.71 while the Nifty 50 started at 11,018.95, before extending their losses. At 9:43 am, the Sensex was at 36,463.55, with a loss of 78.08 points or 0.21 per cent while the broader Nifty50 was below the crucial 11,000 mark at 10,979, down 39.90 points or 0.36 per cent. Twenty eight out of 50 Nifty stocks traded in the red.

The top losers in the 50-share Nifty pack were Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 7.46 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 2.86 per cent), Sun Pharma (down 2.77 per cent), Lupin (down 2.69 per cent), and Reliance Industries (down 2.20 per cent). Infosys, which reported its June quarter profit at Rs 3,612 crore on Friday, was trading 0.49 per cent higher at Rs 1,339.00, up 1.64 per cent.

Analysts expect traders to book profits this week. "In the near future, we may witness profit-booking (this week) as Nifty formed a 'Shooting Star', which is treated as a short-term reversal pattern. We expect the short-term trend to reverse only after Nifty trades below the low of 10,999, which is also a crucial support while resistance is around 11,100-mark," said Rahul Sharma, Senior Research Analyst, Equity99.

Pharma, PSU bank and realty stocks fell as much as 2.04 per cent. However, IT and FMCG stocks bucked the negative trend and traded with gains.

Experts, however, said that stock-specific action is likely to continue on Dalal Street this week. "We will continue to see stock-specific approach as heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Ashok Leyland, Zee Entertainment, UltraTech Cement, Mindtree, Bajaj Finance, and Kotak Mahindra Bank are scheduled to report their quarterly earnings," said Gaurav Jain, Director Hem Securities.

Asian shares were lower on Monday after data from China showed the world's second-largest economy slowed slightly in the second quarter, and as investors remain cautious over the impact of the heated Sino-US trade war. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4 per cent, according to a report by news agency Reuters. (With Reuters Inputs)