Market breadth turns negative

The market extended early losses and hit fresh intraday low in morning trade. At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 39.60 points or 0.11% at 36,685.82. The Nifty 50 index was down 25.20 points or 0.23% at 11,033. Weak cues from other Asian stocks spoiled investors sentiment.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.32%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.01%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On BSE, 886 shares rose and 986 shares fell. A total of 108 shares were unchanged.

Most power generation stocks declined. Jaiprakash Power Ventures (down 4.92%), Tata Power (down 1.84%), Torrent Power (down 1.59%), Adani Power (down 1.49%), JSW Energy (down 1.49%), Reliance Power (down 1.14%), GMR Infrastructure (down 0.88%), CESC (down 0.7%) and Reliance Infrastructure (down 0.45%), edged lower. NHPC (up 2.22%) and NTPC (up 2.94%), edged higher.

State-run Coal India was down 0.7%. State-run Power Grid Corporation of India was down 0.67%.

Most IT shares declined. Wipro (down 4.09%), Hexaware Technologies (down 2.3%), HCL Technologies (down 1.23%), MphasiS (down 1.04%), Infosys (down 0.94%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.25%) and Persistent Systems (down 0.02%), edged lower. MindTree (up 0.02%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.22%) and TCS (up 0.87%), edged higher.

Overseas, Asian shares declined on the back of an overnight slide in the US market, as investors grappled with fresh concerns over the state of the global economy.

US stocks finished lower for a fourth straight session Thursday on mounting evidence of a slowing global economy. The European Central Bank (ECB) cut its growth forecast for 2019 and announced a fresh round of stimulus to aid banks in the region. ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank cut its growth estimate to 1.1%, down from a 1.7% expansion forecast released in December. The ECB's announcements come amid lingering concerns over a possible economic slowdown across the globe.

On the US data front, first-time unemployment claims fell to 223,000 in the week ended March 2, from 226,000 the previous seven days. The productivity of the US workforce rose at an annual pace of 1.9% in the fourth quarter of 2018, the Labor Department reported.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News