Sensex tumbles over 200 points; Banks lose ground

At 10:50 am, the Sensex is down 220 points to trade 25,565 at and the Nifty50 has shed 64 points to quote at 7,836

Markets have slumped further on the back of weak macroeconomic data and losses in the global peers.

At 10:50 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is down 220 points to trade 25,565 at and the Nifty50 has shed 64 points to quote at 7,836.

Top five losers include Dr Reddy's Lab, Bharti Airtel, HUL, GAIL and ICICI Bank down between 1%-2%.

Meanwhile, Indian banks would have to make higher provisions for lending to large corporate borrowers above a certain level from next financial year, according to proposals published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday.

Among the banking stocks, Punjab National Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda have cracked between 0.1%-2%. 
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(updated at 9:16 am)

After registering gains in the previous session, markets have opened today on a lower note as weak macroeconomic data coupled with losses in the global peers took shine off markets.

However, participants will continue to react to the earning’s session with some of the prominent names including United Breweries, Union Bank of India, IL&FS Transportation Networks, Dena Bank, Central Bank of India, Cadila Healthcare and Bank of Baroda due to slate the numbers today. 

At 9:16 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is down 125 points to trade 25,664 at and the Nifty50 has shed 34 points to quote at 7,866 

Geojit BNP Paribas in a technical note says, "After recouping Wednesday’s losses, price moves look to have lost some steam, suggesting that buyers are unlikely to chase prices higher without further consolidation. 7,870 is likely to be important for the day’s proceedings which could see swings on either sides of the pivot."

MACRO-ECOMIC DATA

India's industrial output rose by 0.1 per cent in March, largely losing the momentum generated in February when it had risen by two per cent, after a three-month fall.

Consumer Price Index-based inflation (CPI) for the month of April was a higher than expected 5.39 per cent, on the back of a large jump in food prices, snapping a three-month downtrend.

GLOBAL MARKET

Asian equities have lost ground on Friday following a weak finish on the Wall Street. Also, investors are patiently waiting for the Bank of Korea i monetary policy decision due today. Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Singapore’s Straits Times have declined between 0.2%-1.5%.  

Major US key indices closed mixed on Thursday, with Nasdaq Composite down 0.49% as Apple shares slipped to a two-year low on concerns about iPhone demand. However, Dow Jones ended flat with a positive bias.

INDEX MOVERS

Dr Reddy's Laboratories has emerged as the top loser and is down 1.7% after the pharma major reported an 85.6% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 74.6 crore for the quarter ended March. The reasons include provisioning to write down receivables from Venezuela and increased tax expenses. 

Bharti Airtel has dipped 1.5%. The country’s largest telecom service provider, said for every 0.01% increase in call drop rate beyond 1.5% a month in each circle of operation, it will contribute Rs 1 lakh towards rural education, subject to a maximum of Rs 100 crore per annum.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL have dropped 0.6% and 1.2% each on rise in the consumer price inflation data. 

Meanwhile, capital goods majors L&T and BHEL have shed 1% and 0.5% each on sluggish IIP numbers.

ICICI Bank has fallen 1% as the country’s largest private sector lender, is looking at consolidating its position in the overseas market by shrinking its equity investment in its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Canada. The lender has significantly reduced its equity stake in both these subsidiaries from 11.8% at the end of March 31, 2010, to 4.8% at the end of FY16.

Other prominent losers include GAIL, Bajaj Auto, SBI, ONGC nad Tata Steel down between 0.5%-1.2%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors has climbed 1.6% after its group global wholesales, including Jaguar Land Rover, rose 5% to 81,333 units in April 2016 over April 2015.

Other notable gainers include Asian Paints, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki and Adani Ports up between 0.3%-1.2%.