Sensex falls around 100 points, Nifty below 8,000; HDFC dips 2%

Two-day policy meeting of the US Fed Reserve's monetary committee due later during the day will be keenly awaited

Benchmark indices continue to trade lower weighed down by index heavyweight shares like HDFC and Reliance Inds. However, the down side is limited led by buying among IT shares.

Meanwhile, two-day policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve's monetary committee due later during the day will be keenly awaited.

At 11:35AM, the Sensex is down 87 points at 26,497 levels and the Nifty has slipped 27 points at 7,987 levels.

Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down 0.1-0.2%. The market breadth is weak on the BSE with 1,196 declines versus 880 advances.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 604.86 crore yesterday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

In the currency front, the rupee pulled back 9 paise to 64.07 against the dollar, snapping its three-day falling streak at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on fresh selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.

Further, merchandise exports contracted 20.2% year-on-year in May, for the sixth straight month, dragged down by a slump in global demand, government data showed on Tuesday.

SECTORS & BUZZING STOCKS

Sectors like Consumer Durables, Banks, Realty, FMCG, Healthcare and Auto have plunged between 0.2-1%. However, BSE Metal and Oil & Gas indices are trading marginally positive.

The top losers on the Sensex are HDFC, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Cipla, BHEL and Vedanta.

HDFC has reported 12% increase in its advance tax outgo to Rs 465 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal. The stock is trading lower by 2%.

BHEL has commissioned NTPC's 800-MW Koldam hydro power project in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.

On the gaining side, GAIL, Coal India, Tata Power, Wipro and M&M have surged between 0.4-2%.

The Mahindra Group has clinched a multi-million dollar aerospace contract with European consortium Airbus at the Paris Air Show, marking a major milestone in the Make-in-India initiative.

Shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) were in focus and trading higher on the bourses in otherwise subdued market after these companies announced Rs 0.64 a litre increase in petrol prices and a Rs 1.35 per litre cut in diesel prices to align the domestic rates with global price benchmarks. HPCL, IOC and BPCL are up 2%.  

PI Industries has moved higher by 8% to Rs 660 on the BSE after the investment firm Cartica Capital acquired nearly 4% stake in agrochemicals company for about Rs 320 crore through open market route.

Shares of Geometric are trading lower by 2% at Rs 103, extending its an over a month long fall, after reporting a disappointing set of numbers for the quarter ended March 2015. Currently, the stock is quoting at its 52-week low price.