Sensex falls over 200 points; RIL, ICICI Bank down 2-3%

The Sensex was lower by 211 points at 29,251 whereas the Nifty has dipped 55 points at 8,841

Markets have started the trading session on a lower note weighed down by selling pressure among index heavyweight shares like RIL, ICICI Bank and HDFC.

Further, Germany’s rejection of Greece’s request for an extension to its loan agreement has dampened the sentiments of the market participants.

Investors have also turned cautious ahead of the Union Budget to be presented in the forthcoming week.

By 9:30, the Sensex was lower by 211 points at 29,251 whereas the Nifty has slipped 55 points at 8,841.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1542.70 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 195.74 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Japanese stocks rose to a fresh 15-year high on Friday and the dollar was on the front foot again on upbeat US data, but continuing uncertainty over the weighed on the euro.

US weekly jobless numbers released overnight proved better than expected, diffusing some of the pressure on the dollar that followed dovish-sounding minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting.

The minutes had dented expectations for an early interest rate hike by the Fed, driving U.S. debt yields and the dollar lower.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectors like FMCG, ITC and Oil & Gas are trading in negative zone. However, BSE Metal index haa gained by nearly 1%.

The main losers on the Sensex are RIL, ICICI Bank, Coal India, ITC and HDFC, all falling between 2-3%.

The Union government on Thursday cracked down on illegal information leaks from the petroleum and natural gas ministry. Delhi Police detained two employees of the ministry and three other persons for allegedly leaking confidential information. One of them is an employee of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the country's largest private sector oil company. RIL is down nearly 2%.

On the gaining side, Hindalco, Tata Motors, BHEL, Cipla and Hero Moto have risen between 0.5-1.2%.

Gare Palma-IV/5 in Chhatisgarh received a final bid of Rs 3,502 per tonne from Hindalco Industries. This price is also higher than the current landed price of imported coal that is Rs 3,000 per tonne.

Jindal Steel has extended yesterday’s gains and are trading higher by over 4%.

Naveen Jindal promoted Jindal Power (JPL) might have been hit the worst when coal blocks were taken away from their owners but it walked away with the pick of the bunch when it won two in Chhattisgarh in an auction on Thursday.

Gare Palma-IV/2&3 blocks (set aside for the power sector), clubbed for bidding, went to JPL for Rs 108 a tonne, the lowest bid for any block so far. The government has so far closed bids for 13 blocks, with companies bidding as high as Rs 3,502 a tonne for Gare Palma IV/5. Hindalco bagged the IV/5 block (earmarked for the steel sector).

SpiceJet is expected to receive its first tranche of Rs 400 crore funding from new investors led by Ajay Singh on Monday (February 23), company officials told Business Standard. The development comes with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) clearing the change of ownership proposal from Kalanithi Maran to Singh on Thursday. The stock is up over 14%.