Nifty breaches 8,350; rupee nears 64 levels

Sensex ended the session at 27,531 levels, while the Nifty lost 31 points to 8,339 levels

The markets declined for the second consecutive session due to weakness in index heavyweights such as ONGC, RIL, Tata Motors and ITC.

The absence of fresh triggers, weak quarterly earnings from India Inc, lingering Greece fiscal woes and the impending derivatives expiry seem to have dampened sentiments on Dalal Street.

The benchmark indices had slid by around 1% on Monday and there were no signs of a rebound; the Sensex ended this session at 27,531, lower by 112 points or 0.4% and the Nifty settled below the crucial technical level of 8,350 at 8339, down 31 points or 0.3%.

The broader markets had a listless closing, with the midcap and smallcap indices ending marginally lower at 10,609 and 11,165 respectively. The market breadth was negative. Out of 2,781 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 1,173 advancing stocks as against 1,478 declines.

Meanwhile, the Modi-led NDA govt has completed one year in office today, May 26, 2015. According to a Bloomberg report, the Sensex has rallied 13% in the past year, compared with a 0.7% retreat for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

RUPEE

Extending losses for the second straight day, the rupee depreciated 37 paise to 63.93 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market as the dollar firmed up overseas.

Forex dealers said besides the dollar's gains against other currencies overseas, increased demand for the dollar from importers and a lower opening in the domestic equity markets put pressure on the rupee.

GLOBAL MARKETS

The European shares reversed initial gains as fears lingered about the Greek debt situation, with the CAC, FTSE and DAX shedding around 0.5% each.

The Asian markets ended mixed in the absence of fresh cues from the global front. The Nikkei ended 0.1% higher at 20,437, the Shanghai

Composite gained 2% at 4,910 and Hang Seng added 0.9% at 28,249. On the other hand, the Kospi, SET Composite and Straits Times indices ended with marginal losses.

SECTORS & STOCKS

All the sectoral indices ended in the red, with oil and FMCG stocks being the major laggards.

In the oil space, ONGC saw profit booking post the gains witnessed in the previous two trading sessions. ONGC Videsh (OVL), the unlisted overseas arm of state-run petroleum explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), said its net profit for the financial year ended march (2014-15) stood at Rs 1,904 crore, a 57% slump compared to the previous year (2013-14). ONGC shed 2% at Rs 322. RIL, BPCL, HPCL and Cairn India also lost about 1% each.

In the FMCG space, ITC dipped another 1% at Rs 315, sliding for a second straight session on disappointing earnings reported on Friday.
 
Among individual stocks, Tata Motors declined 1.4% ahead of its January-March earnings scheduled later in the day.

On the gainer's side, select auto stocks had a good session of trade. Hero Motocorp, Maruti and Bajaj Auto gained around 1% each.