Broad market depicts weakness

Key indices extended intraday losses and hit fresh intraday low in morning trade as investors sought safe harbors amid tensions in North Korea and Syria. At 10:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 153.12 points or 0.51% at 29,635.23. Capital goods and realty stocks dropped.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.54%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.96%. The decline in both these indices was higher than the Sensex's fall in percentage terms.

The broad market depicted weakness. There were more than three losers against every gainer on BSE. 1,796 shares fell and 546 shares rose. A total of 67 shares were unchanged.

Capital goods stocks dropped in weak market. BEML (down 0.36%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (down 1.56%), Havells India (down 0.73%), L&T (down 1.41%), Thermax (down 1.09%), and Siemens (down 0.81%) declined.

Realty stocks also declined. Sobha (down 2.27%), Indiabulls Real Estate (down 0.9%), Unitech (down 0.15%), Oberoi Realty (down 0.37%), DLF (down 1.32%), and Omaxe (down 0.42%) edged lower.

NBCC (India) declined 1.69%. The company announced that its subsidiary, Hindustan Steelworks Construction (HSCL), as on 1 April 2017, had an order book of Rs 8000 crore (approximately).

For the financial year 2015-2016, the company's total revenue and net profit was Rs 1416 crore (approximately) and Rs 30.19 crore respectively. Presently, HSCL is a debt free company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 11 April 2017.

Overseas, most Asian stocks traded lower as a drumbeat of alarming geopolitical news compelled investors to move money out of risky assets. North Korea warned yesterday, 11 April 2017, of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of aggression, as a US Navy strike group steamed toward the western Pacific - a force President Donald Trump described as an "armada".

At the same time, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Moscow to denounce Russian support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad, raising the stakes in the Middle East. Political uncertainty in France also weighed on sentiment as hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon surged in the polls ahead of the May Presidential election.

On data front in Asia, China's consumer inflation rebounded slightly in March after slipping to a more than two-year low in the previous month, official data showed. China's consumer price index increased 0.9% in March from a year earlier, compared with a 0.8% gain in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Japanese core machinery orders rose in February, the government said, a sign that companies are investing more for growth despite continuing global political and economic uncertainty. Core machinery orders, a leading indicator of business investment, increased 1.5% from the previous month, following a drop of 3.2% in January, the Cabinet Office said.

US stocks finished slightly lower yesterday, 11 April 2017, as rising geopolitical tensions lured investors out of risky assets like stocks and into the perceived safety of treasuries, gold and the Japanese yen.

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