Markets continue to trade under pressure; metals melt

Among broader markets, BSE Midcap index fell 1.09% while BSE Smallcap index slipped 0.74%

Benchmark indices continued trading under pressure volatility as investors remained cautious ahead of inauguration speech of Donald Trump as US President and after disappointing Axis Bank's earnings.

 

Broader sentiment was also subdued even after China's fourth-quarter economic growth beat expectations and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen took a less hawkish policy stance.

 

Nifty 50 breached its 8,400 level dragged by Axis Bank, ONGC, Tata Steel and Bharti Infratel while BSE Sensex fell as much as 225 points at intra-day.

 

At 1:37 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 27,069, down 239 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,362, down 72 points.

 

Among broader markets, BSE Midcap index fell 1.09% while BSE Smallcap index fell 0.74%.

 

The market breadth remained negative with 1615 declines versus 881 advances. 174 shares remained unchanged.

 

Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, ITC and Bajaj Auto were the top gainers while Axis Bank, Tata Steel, ONGC, ICICI Bank and NTPC were the biggest laggards in the Sensex.

 

Shares of Axis Bank tanked over 6% after the private lender reported a 73% decline in net profit at Rs 580 crore in the December quarter on account of rise in bad loans. Shares of MindTree slipped nearly 3% after it reported 26% drop in its net profit at Rs 103 crore due to poor performance of its US and Europe subsidiaries.

 

Motherson Sumi rose over 3% to Rs 338 during early-morning trade in an otherwise lower market after reports that the company will buy truck wire maker PKC Group for 571 million euros ($ 609 million).

 

Ruchi Soya Industries rose 14.5% to Rs 28.1 after reports that the company is expected to enter into a marketing deal with Baba Ramdev promoted Patanjali Ayurved.

 

Telecom stocks were among the top gainers with Idea Cellular up 3% and Bharti Airtel 2.4% higher.

 

ITC Ltd rose up to 0.6% to its highest since Nov. 8, while Hindustan Unilever Ltd was up 0.5%.

 

Among other losers, ICICI Bank was down 1.9% while Infosys Ltd fell as much as 1.3% to its lowest since Nov. 25, 2016.

 

In global markets, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.2%, and looked set to end the week 0.1% lower.