Sensex falls over 200 points, Nifty below 7,800; heavyweights drag

The top losers on the Sensex M&M, HDFC, Wirpo, ITC, ICICI Bank, all down between 1-2% each

Markets continue to reel under pressure weighed down by IT and financial shares amid a global sell-off.  Also, the slump in the rupee in today’s trades has weighed on the local markets.

The weakness in global markets is mainly due to the stimulus announced by the European Central Bank (ECB) that failed to meet expectation.

At 11:05 am, Sensex was at 25,677, down by 210 points and the Nifty was at 7,792, down by 72 points.

The top losers on the Sensex M&M, HDFC, Wirpo, ITC, ICICI Bank, all down between 1-2% each.
-------------------------------------
(updated 9:40 am)

Indian markets opened the session on a lower note after the stimulus announced by the European Central Bank (ECB) failed to meet expectation.

The global markets suffered sharp losses post ECB’s announcement, with the Wall Street closing at a two- month low.

Also, Janet Yellen’s hawkish stance on the US economy thus reinforcing the case for an interest rate hike in December 2015 would weigh on the sentiment across the bourses.

At 9:40 AM, the Sensex opened at 25,706, down by 180 points and the Nifty opened at 7,803, down by 60 points.

According to Angel Broking morning report, "7,810 level would act as a strong support zone for our market. If Nifty manages to find a support towards this mentioned zone then we may witness some bounce in the market. Intraday resistance is now seen at 7,900 - 7,940 levels."

The ECB cut deposit rate by 10 basis points to negative 0.3% on Thursday, and said its asset purchase program will also be extended until at least March 2017. Analysts were expecting a raise in the quantum of the asset purchase as well.

Meanwhile, US Fed chair Janet Yellen said in a testimony before Congress that economic data since October backs the central bank's expectations of an improved job market.

The Indian rupee has slumped to a two year low,  quoting at 66.95 against the greenback, depreciating by 30 paise.

The Asian markets are trading weak, tracking overnight cues from global markets. The Nikkei had hit three week low during intraday.

Further, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would meet later today to decide on the production levels.  OPEC will likely decide to roll over oil production at its meeting with Saudi Arabia telling other members it has no intention of floating a proposal for curbing output.

In the commodities space, crude oil jumped nearly 3% on Friday buoyed by a weaker American currency and gold has bounced back from its six year lows.

TRENDING STOCKS

Sectorally, BSE IT index is reeling under pressure as it has dropped 1% followed by BSE Bankex, down by 0.7%.

The IT pack has come under pressure after torrential rains have marooned the city of Chennai- one of the IT hubs in the country.  Infosys, TCS, Wipro are down between 0.7-1.3%.

ECB’s decision and Yellen’s comments are weighing on the banking and financial shares. ICIC Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, HDFC twins are down between 0.5-1% each.

Among index heavyweights, Reliance Industries, Tata  Motors, ITC are all down between 0.1-1.1% each.

Dena Bank is outperforming in a weak market as it plans to raise equity capital by issuing new shares and pare the government holding from 65 per cent to 52 per cent.  The stock is up 3%.

According to media reports, Dabur has become the first major private Indian company to be hit by prevailing political tension in Nepal as the homegrown FMCG giant is expecting its juice sales to dip 10-15% in October-November due to disruption of supplies from its plant in the Himalayan nation.  The stock has slumped 3%.

Other companies affected by flooding in Chennai are Apollo Tyres, Chennai Petroleum, India Cements,  all down between 0.3-3% each.

Tree House Education & Accessories has locked in upper circuit of 10% at Rs 223, while Zee Learn too rallied 10% to Rs 46.80, also its 52-week high on the BSE, after board of these companies has given in-principle approval for exploring consolidation options.

With Reuters input