Sensex down over 200 points; Nifty holds 7,750

IT majors Infosys and TCS were the top losers along with ITC

Benchmark share indices continued to trade weak in noon deals, amid weak global cues ,as lower industrial output in September raised concerns that the economy is on the growth track while rise in consumer inflation dashed hopes of a rate cut by the central bank.

At 1:25pm, the 30-share Sensex was down 230 points at 25,636 and the 50-share Nifty was down 74 points at 7,756.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were down 0.8-1.4% each. Market breadth was weak with 1619 losers and 764 gainers on the BSE.

The rupee was trading higher by 17 paise at 66.14 to the US dollar after exporters pressed sales in the US currency.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian markets were trading lower amid sharp slide in global commodity prices. Hang Seng was down 2% while Shanghai Composite ended down 1.4% and Nikkei closed 0.5% lower. Straits Times was down 1.2%.

European shares were down amid slide in global commodity prices and weak earnings. The CAC, DAX and FTSE-100 were down 1-2% each.

MACRO-ECONOMIC DATA

Industrial output grew at a slower-than-expected pace of 3.6% in September, dampened by a slower expansion in the mining sector.

Further, the retail inflation climbed to a four-month high in October as food prices escalated on supply deficiency in pulses.

Consumer price index based inflation, the primary gauge of central bank, rose to 5% in October versus 4.41% in the previous month

SECTORS & STOCKS

IT majors witnessed profit taking after the rupee appreciated against the US dollar. Infosys and TCS were down 1-3% each contributing the most to the Sensex decline.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL were down 1-1.7% each on concerns that rising consumer price inflation would hurt volume growth.

Oil majors were trading mixed after global crude oil prices were seen heading to new
new six-and-a-half year lows. RIL was up 0.5% while ONGC was down 3.2%.

Metal shares remained under pressure amid sharp plunge in global commodity prices. Vedanta and Hindalco were down 2-4% each.

In the financial pack, ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC were down 0.4-1.6% each.

However, Tata Steel edged higher after the company received green nod for expansion as well as setting up of two units at its Joda plant in Keonjhar district, Odisha, entailing an investment of over Rs 185 crore.

Coal India was up over 3% after company invited bids from international companies in order to establish a washery in Jharkand.

Bajaj Auto dipped 1.3% on profit taking. The two-wheeler major had gained recently after slew of recent launches boosted demand for motorcycles.

Among other shares, sares of CESC were up over 3% at Rs 545 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company reported increase in net profit on the back of lower fuel costs. Net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 was higher at Rs 195 crore compared with Rs 192 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.