Markets turn volatile; weak European cues weigh

IT shares were among the top Sensex losers

Benchmark share indices turned volatile in late noon trades, amid weakness in Europe, after Britain's decision to exit the European Union continued to hurt investor sentiment.

At 2:25pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 33 points at 26,365 and the Nifty50 slipped 2 points  at 8,086. However, the broader markets outperformed with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.8%-1.4% each.

The rupee continued to trade firm against the US dollar after the sharp decline in the previous session. The Indian currency was up 7 paise at Rs 67.89 to the US dollar compared to the previous close.

Global crude oil prices extended losses amid selling pressure post Britain's exit from the EU and weakness in the British pound. Both the Brent and Nymex were trading just above $48 a barrel.

European stocks extended losses on Monday in the aftermath of Brexit. London's FTSE was the top loser down 1.2% followed by DAX and CAC down over 1% each.

STOCKS

IT exporters were among the top Sensex losers on concerns over demand uncertainty from Europe and volatility in the British pound post the Brexit. TCS which has a substantial exposure to UK was the top loser down over 3% followed by Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies.

FMCG shares which had earlier gained on talk that the monsoon rains will retreat later than normal were trading mixed. ITC was up 0.6% while HUL was down 0.3%.

Engineering major L&T was up 1.3% after the company announced that L&T Construction has won orders worth Rs 2,416 crore.

Bank shares also staged a recovery after losses in the previous session with SBI up over 2.3% followed by ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

Maruti Suzuki was down over 1% on concerns that the appreciating yen would hurt increase import costs and royalty payments.

Among other shares, Bajaj Finserv rallied 8% to Rs 2,245, also its 52-week high on the BSE in intra-day trade, on reports that the company is likely to buy out its German partner Allianz SE’s stakes in two insurance units—Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co. Ltd and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals has moved higher by 11% to Rs 261 on the BSE after the company said its Panoli tablet manufacturing facility received approval from United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).