Market slumps on weak global cues

Key benchmark indices slumped in the mid-afternoon trade as further security scares in Paris weighed on investor confidence. At 14:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 359.92 points or 1.39% at 25,504.55. The Nifty 50 index was down 104.40 points or 1.33% at 7,733.15.

The BSE Sensex fell 375.76 points, or 1.45% at the day's low of 25,488.71 in mid-afternoon trade, its lowest level since 16 November 2015. The Nifty 50 fell 108 points, or 1.38% at the day's low of 7,729.55 in mid-afternoon trade, its lowest level since 16 November 2015. The BSE Sensex rose 25.89 points, or 0.10% at the day's high of 25,890.36 in early trade. The Nifty 50 index rose 5.85 points, or 0.07% at the day's high of 7,843.40 in early trade.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive. On BSE, 1,567 shares fell and 983 shares rose. A total of 187 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.62%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.63%. The decline in both these indices was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

In overseas stock markets, European equities opened lower as further security scares after the Paris attacks last Friday, 13 November 2015, weigh on investor confidence. Today morning five people were reportedly arrested and at least one killed in a police raid on Saint-Denis, Paris. Asian shares edged lower as investors remained cautious over fears of fresh terror attacks in Europe. US stocks gave up earlier gains to end almost flat yesterday, 17 November 2015, as falling oil prices overshadowed strong earnings from giant retailers Wal-Mart Stores and Home Depot Inc. The evacuation of a soccer stadium in Germany also rekindled terror fears, unnerving investors.

Most sugar stocks edged higher, extending recent gains triggered by hopes that a shortage in sugar supplies globally may boost domestic sugar prices. Simbhaoli Sugars (up 8.22%), Triveni Engineering & Industries (up 5.99%), Rana Sugars (up 5.49%), Balrampur Chini Mills (up 5.06%), Dwarikesh Sugar Industries (up 4.96%), Shree Renuka Sugar (up 4.74%), Eastern Sugar & Industries (up 3.95%), KCP Sugar & Industries Corporation (up 3.42%), Oudh Sugar Mills (up 2%) and Dhampur Sugar Mills (up 1.38%), edged higher. Upper Ganges Sugar & Industries (down 1.45%), Bajaj Hindusthan (down 2.05%), DCM Shriram Industries (down 2.4%), Sakthi Sugars (down 4.49%) and EID Parry (India) (down 5.28%), edged lower.

India is reportedly set for a sustained period as a net exporter in coming years. Barring an extreme weather event, the world's second-biggest sugar producer and the top sugar consumer is set to cement its position as a net exporter because of remunerative sugarcane prices, the director general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), Abinash Verma, reportedly told an industry seminar. The Indian sugar industry is becoming structurally a surplus producer, Verma reportedly said in a keynote address to the two-day International Sugar Organization (ISO) seminar.

FMCG shares were mixed. Tata Global Beverages (down 2.35%), Bajaj Corp (down 0.96%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.3%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.26%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.2%), Britannia Industries (down 0.14%) and Colgate Palmolive (India) (down 0.04%), edged lower. Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (up 0.07%), Nestle India (up 0.34%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.37%), Dabur India (up 1.44%) and Marico (up 3.82%), edged higher.

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