Markets end lower on weak global cues; banks lead fall

The ongoing logjam in the parliament over the GST Bill and weak rupee dampened sentiment

Markets ended lower, amid weak global cues, with private lenders leading the decline as the ongoing logjam in the parliament over the GST Bill and sharp fall in the rupee dampened sentiment.

The 30-share Sensex ended down 354 points at 27,512 and 50-share Nifty ended down 109 points at 8,354.
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(Updated at 15:20PM)
Markets extended losses in late trades with private lenders leading the decline as the ongoing logjam in the parliament over the GST Bill and sharp fall in the rupee dampened sentiment.

At 15:20PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 338 points at 27,528 and the 50-share Nifty was down 108 points at 8,354.
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(Updated at 2:30PM)
Markets continue to trade in the weak in the late trades owing to weakness in the metal shares after China allowed the yuan to fall sharply for a second straight day. Meanwhile, investors remain cautious ahead of the key macroeconomic numbers, CPI and IIP due to be released later today.

At 2:30 pm, the Sensex was quoting at 27,558, weaker by 308 points and the Nifty was at 8,362, down 100 points.

The rupee fell to a two-year low of 64.78 down by 61 paise following China's devaluation of the Yuan for a second time this week which further dampened the sentiments.

Financials are dragging the indices with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI contributing nearly 150 points to the decline.

However, the technology shares continue to trade higher on the back of weak rupee.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries have moved higher by 5% to Rs 885 on the BSE in intra-day trades on the back of a sequential improvement in operating performance and positive management commentary.

Shares of Tata Steel were up 3.5% after the steel major's consolidated net profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2015-16 surged over 100% on the back of sharp decline in operating expenses, lower tax outgo and higher other income. 

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(updated at 1:10 PM)

The benchmark indices continue to languish at two-week lows, albeit off the lows of the day, in wake of devaluation of the yuan and lingering concerns surrounding a possible slowdown in reforms back home.

At 1:10 pm, the Sensex was quoting at 27,633, weaker by 234 points and the Nifty was at 8,387, down 75 points. The broader markets are underperforming their largecap peers; with the midcap index shedding 1.2% at 11,357 and the smallcap index losing 0.8% at 11,826. The market breath is weak; out of 2,669 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 849 advancing stocks as against 1,712 declines.

The market participants will be keeping a close watch on the proceedings in Parliament regarding any movements on the hitherto-stalled GST bill. They are also likely to remain cautious ahead of the key macroeconomic numbers, July CPI and June IIP data to be released later during the day.

RUPEE

Extending its recent slide, the rupee has depreciated 69 paise to 64.88 against the US dollar in trade today to mark its lowest level since September 2013.

SECTORS AND STOCKS

The oil, metal and auto sectors are having a rough rise, while the IT sector is bucking the weak trend.

In the oil space, OMCs have taken a hit on worries that gross refining margins (GRM) and inventory gains will come off in the July-September period. BPCL and HPCL have plunged by around 7% each, while IOC has cracked by 6%. ONGC and RIL have shed around 0.5% each.

Metal companies have declined for the second straight day post the Chinese central bank's decision to devalue its tightly controlled currency as a devalued currency will make Chinese exports cheaper. Hindalco has plumetted by over 5%, while Coal India, Vedanta and Jindal Steel have slipped 2-4% each. Coal India is scheduled to declare its results later in the day.

On the other hand, export-oriented sectors such as IT and pharma have surged on hopes that ongoing slide in the rupee would lead to an increase in exports. The S&P BSE IT index rose over 2%, with Infosys and TCS adding 3% and 2% respectively. Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL gained around 2% each. In the pharma space, Sun Pharma, Lupin and Cadila Healthcare have added 2-4% each.

SBI has extended its previous day's losses and is now down 2.6% at Rs 262. The bank had, on Tuesday, reported lower-than-expected net interest income and sequential rise in non-performing assets.