Sensex, Nifty pare intraday losses

Key indices pared losses in early-afternoon trade after hitting fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 65.51 points or 0.18% at 36,476.12. The Nifty 50 index was down 33.20 points or 0.30% at 10,985.70. The Nifty was trading below the psychologically important 11,000 mark in morning trade after opening above that level.

Trading was volatile. Indices opened higher and declined as the session progressed. The Sensex rose 117.08 points, or 0.32% at the day's high of 36,658.71 in early trade. The index fell 121.43 points, or 0.33% at the day's low of 36,420.20 in mid-morning trade. The Nifty rose 0.6 points, or 0.01% at the day's high of 11,019.50 in early trade. The index fell 54.80 points, or 0.50% at the day's low of 10,964.10 in mid-morning trade.

Broader market witnessed a steep decline. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.24%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 1.59%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 528 shares rose and 1811 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

Cement shares declined. ACC (down 1.65%), Ambuja Cements (down 1.37%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.92%), edged lower.

Grasim Industries was down 1.07%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Telecom shares declined. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 5.53%), Reliance Communications (down 5.23%), MTNL (down 2.24%) and Bharti Airtel (down 1.68%), edged lower. Idea Cellular was up 0.94%.

Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was down 0.64%.

Pharma major Lupin was down 2.91%. The company announced during trading hours today, 16 July 2018, that it has received approval from UK MHRA (United Kingdom's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) for its Goa facility. The unit was inspected by UK MHRA in March 2018 and there were no critical or major observations cited. Commenting on the development, Nilesh Gupta, Managing Director - Lupin said that the outcome of this inspection is a positive and encouraging sign for the firm, and is a testament to its commitment to maintain global manufacturing standards and best practices. This approval from UK MHRA is a significant development for the company's Goa plant.

Overseas, Asian shares declined. Market in Japan is closed for a holiday on Monday. Meanwhile, China on Monday posted second-quarter GDP growth of 6.7% from a year ago, slightly lower than 6.8% in the first quarter of 2018.

In US, the Dow on Friday moved above the 25,000 level for the first time in nearly a month while the technology-powered Nasdaq to a record, underlining an uptrend that has been driven by signs of economic strength and solid quarterly earnings.

On the US data front, the cost of import goods fell sharply in June to mark the biggest drop in about a year and a half, though the respite is unlikely to continue once tariffs between the US and other countries go into effect. A read on consumer sentiment fell to a six-month low of 97.1 in July.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News