Indices drop over 1%; Hindalco, BHEL top losers

Main losers on the Sensex are Hindalco, M&M, BHEL, Tata Power, NTPC, Tata Motors

Benchmark indices continue to remain weak as geopolitical tensions escalated after Barack Obama authorized air strikes in Iraq.

At 11:25 AM, the Sensex was trading lower by 259 points at 25,330 mark and the Nifty slipped by 80 points at 7,569 levels.

The broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have slipped between 1-2%.

The market breadth in BSE remains dismal with 1,674 shares declining and 601 shares advancing.  

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares tumbled on Friday as investors sought out safe-haven assets on growing fears that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East could sap global growth, extending losses afterUSPresident Obama said he had authorised air strikes in Iraq.

Obama said in an address that he authorised targeted strikes to protect the besieged Yazidi minority andUSpersonnel in Iraq, after the Iraqi government requested help.

Key benchmark indices in Japan, Indonesia Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea were off 0.11% to 2.73%.

RUPEE

The rupee dropped to its weakest level in five months on Friday morning, weighed down by geo-political tensions around the globe with concerns about the continuation of foreign fund inflows into local debt and equities also hurting sentiment. By 11:10, the partially convertible rupee was at 61.55, after hitting 61.70, its lowest since March 5.

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Power, Realty and Metal indices have slumped by 2% each followed by counters like Banks, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Auto, all falling down by 1% each. However, defensive sectors like FMCG and Healthcare are trading marginally in positive zone.

The main losers on the Sensex are Hindalco, M&M, BHEL, Tata Power, NTPC, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Coal India and ONGC, all declining between 2-3%.

SBI and M&M have slipped between 1-2% ahead of first quarter earnings today.

Hero MotoCorp dropped as the stock turned ex-dividend today, 8 August 2014, for an interim dividend of Rs 30 per share for the year ending March 2015.

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel has moved higher by 1.4% to Rs 371, recovering nearly 3% from intra-day low on National Stock Exchange (NSE), after the company said its board will consider the declaration of interim dividend, for the financial year 2014-15 in their meeting scheduled on August 13, 2014.

Among other shares, Aurobindo Pharma is trading higher by 2% at Rs 727 in otherwise weak market after reporting a robust consolidated net profit of Rs 415 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q1), on back of strong operational performance.

Vardhman Textiles has slipped 10% to Rs 438 on National Stock Exchange (NSE) after reporting 27% year-on-year (yoy) drop in its standalone net profit at Rs 106 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q1), due to higher raw material cost.