Equity indices down by 0.6 pc, Yes Bank plunges by over 10 pc

Equity benchmark indices ended substantially lower on Tuesday due to profit booking by traders amid dismal macro-economic indicators.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 248 points lower at 40,240 while the Nifty 50 was down by 81 points at 11,857.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty PSU bank dropping by 1.6 per cent, IT and metal by 1.4 per cent each and FMCG by 1 per cent.

Joseph Thomas, Head of Research at Emkay Wealth Management, said the low GDP growth rate may be prompting investors to wait for a little more while till they see the green shoots.

Among stocks, Yes Bank tumbled by 10.4 per cent to close at Rs 50.40 per share ahead of a crucial board meeting to decide on investment offers.

Reports suggest that the board will reject the offers from SPGP Holdings and controversial Canadian businessman Erwin Singh Braich. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala may also be out of contention.

Zee Entertainment dropped by 5.1 per cent, GAIL by 4.4 per cent, JSW Steel and Bharat Petroleum Corporation by 2.9 per cent each, and Power Grid Corporation by 2.7 per cent. The other losers included UltraTech Cement, ITC, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank.

However, those which showed marginal gains were Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Leve, Cipla, Eicher Motors and Bharti Airtel.

Meanwhile, Asian equity markets too were on a weak wicket as investors refrained from making major bets before December 15, when the next round of US tariffs on Chinese imports is due to take effect.

A Chinese Commerce Ministry official said a day earlier that Beijing hopes to make a trade deal with Washington as soon as possible.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost by 0.22 per cent while Japan's slipped by 0.09 per cent. But South Korea's Kospi moved up by 0.45 per cent.