IT, oil & gas stocks decline

Key indices extended losses in mid-morning trade as fresh selling in index pivotals derailed a brief intraday recovery triggered in morning trade. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 156.82 points or 0.46% at 33,977.56. The Nifty 50 index was down 57.45 points or 0.56% at 10,187.80. The Sensex was currently below the psychological 34,000 level after gyrating above and below that level in intraday trade. Oil & gas stocks declined. IT stocks dropped.

Trading for the day began on a weak note as the key benchmark indices edged lower in early trade on negative Asian stocks. The Sensex dropped below the psychological 34,000 level in opening trade. Domestic bourses cut losses in morning trade, with the Sensex regaining the psychological 34,000 level.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.76%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.61%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 738 shares rose and 1425 shares fell. A total of 103 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading lower as rising tensions over Saudi Arabia's diplomatic isolation and Brexit talks dampened investor sentiment. US stocks closed mostly lower yesterday, 22 October 2018, with the S&P 500 dropping for a fourth day in a row, as investors braced for a deluge of earnings against the backdrop of higher interest rates and concerns about global growth.

Risks still abound across global markets, from the continuing US-China trade showdown to Italian budget fears and President Donald Trump's unpredictable actions ahead of American midterm elections.

Back home, oil & gas stocks declined. Among shares of oil exploration and production (E&P) companies, ONGC (down 2.18%), Reliance Industries (down 0.38%) and Oil India (down 1.63%) edged higher.

Among PSU OMCs, HPCL (down 2.26%), BPCL (down 2.65%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 2.5%) dropped.

Shares of state-run gas transmission and distribution firm GAIL (India) fell 1.68%.

IT stocks dropped. TCS (down 1.59%), Infosys (down 1.98%), Wipro (down 2.7%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 1.2%), Hexaware Technologies (down 4.7%) and Mphasis (down 0.82%) declined. Tech Mahindra (up 0.15%) and MindTree (up 0.84%) rose.

HCL Technologies fell 0.72% ahead of its September quarterly result today, 23 October 2018.

ITD Cementation India rose 1.8% after the company said it won orders valued over Rs 1066 crore from Airports Authority of India, Vizhinjam Port, Visakhapatam Port, Mumbai Metro and Rail Vikas Nigam. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 October 2018.

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