Sensex down 139 pts, Nifty above 18,360; PSU banks correct

The equity benchmark indices further pared losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty reclaimed the 18,360 mark after hitting day's low of 18,270.95 in mid-morning trade. Metal and oil & gas shares bucked the weak market trend. PSU banks and auto shares witnessed profit selling.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 139.25 points or 0.23% to 61,659.78. The Nifty 50 index lost 52.30 points or 0.28% to 18,362.60.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.02% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.43%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1482 shares rose and 1976 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.

Investor sentiment took a hit after disappointing U.S. retail sales for November suggested inflation is taking a toll on consumers and raising fears that the Fed's rate hikes could push the world's largest economy into a recession.

Eicher Motors (up 1.07%), ONGC (up 0.88%), Bajaj Finance (up 0.77%), Reliance Industries (up 0.69%) and Tech Mahindra (up 0.66%) were top Nifty gainers.

M&M (down 2.16%), ITC (down 1.71%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.69%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.25%) and Hero Motocorp (down 1.25%) were major Nifty losers.

Economy:

India's merchandise exports stood at $31.99 billion last month, up 0.59% from $31.8 billion in November 2021, according to the data released by the government on Thursday. Merchandise exports had contracted 16.7% year on year to $29.8 billion in October.

Meanwhile, imports surged to $55.88 billion in November as against $53 billion in same month last year. The merchandise trade deficit stood at $23.89 billion from $26.91 billion in the previous month.

Global markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia were mixed as hawkish signals from central banks worried investors.

The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a seasonally adjusted 48.8 in December from a final 49.0 in the month of November, marking the lowest reading since October 2020.

US stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday as fears intensified that the Federal Reserve's battle against inflation using aggressive interest rate hikes could lead to a recession.

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