Metal & mining stocks decline

Weakness persisted on the bourses in mid-afternoon trade as index pivotals ITC, Infosys and Reliance Industries (RIL) remained gripped under selling pressure. At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 189.14 points or 0.54% at 34,914. The Nifty 50 index was down 54.40 points or 0.51% at 10,625.25. Metal and mining stocks declined.

The Sensex was trading below the psychological 35,000 mark after falling below that level in morning trade. The market sentiment was hit by data showing that foreign funds and domestic institutional investors turning net sellers of Indian stocks yesterday, 3 May 2018. The trading activity showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 148.42 crore yesterday, 3 May 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 578.92 crore yesterday, 3 May 2018, as per provisional data.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.28%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was off 0.06%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,476 shares fell and 1,100 shares rose. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 2.56%), Bajaj Auto (down 2.42%) and ITC (down 2.13%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.

Metal and mining stocks declined. National Aluminium Company (down 2.3%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.94%), JSW Steel (down 0.5%), Tata Steel (down 0.39%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (down 0.55%), NMDC (down 1.15%) and Hindustan Copper (down 1.49%) edged lower. Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.83%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.11%) rose.

Vedanta fell 1.07%. On a consolidated basis, Vedanta's net profit rose 34.29% to Rs 5675 crore on 22.74% increase in net sales to Rs 27630 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 3 May 2018.

On the macro front, India's service sector continued to improve in April, with business activity rising at a faster pace, supported by new order growth, data released today, 4 May 2018 showed. Inflationary price pressures continued to ease further, with input and output charge inflation registering below their respective historical averages. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index rose to 51.4 in April from 50.3 in March.

Overseas, most European shares were trading higher as investors monitored trade talks between the US and China and waited for key economic data. Asian stocks were trading lower as investors assessed the implications of ongoing trade talks between the US and China. Investors are now awaiting US jobs for April and wage growth data due later in the day. The Nikkei in Japan remained closed for a holiday.

Activity in China's service sector expanded at a faster pace in April, a private gauge showed Friday, a reading in line with official data last month. The Caixin China services purchasing managers' index rose to 52.9 in April from 52.3 in March, Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity from the previous month while a level below that points to a contraction.

US stock benchmarks ended off their lows yesterday, 3 May 2018 and the Dow ended higher in choppy trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5.17 points, or less than 0.1%, to 23,930.15. The S&P 500 index declined 5.94 points, or 0.2%, to 2,629.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed 12.75 points, or 0.2%, lower at 7,088.15.

On the economic data front, the Markit services purchasing managers index for April came in at 54.6, compared with 54 in March. The Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing index fell more than expected in April, dropping to 56.8, while factory orders rose 1.6% in the month.

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