Sensex, Nifty pare losses

Key equity indices pared losses in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 172 points or 0.47% at 36,406.96. The Nifty 50 index was down 62.10 points or 0.57% at 10,899.75. The Nifty was trading below 10,900 mark after slipping below that mark in mid-morning trade.

Key indices opened lower and extended losses as the session progressed. Indices hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade, but pared losses in mid-afternoon trade.

Negative global cues spoiled investors sentiment. Global shares fell after the International Monetary fund (IMF) slashed its world economic forecast on Monday. Traders in domestic market also booked profits after a five-session winning spree.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.23%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.57%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 808 shares rose and 1624 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

FMCG shares were mixed. Bajaj Corp (down 1.34%), Jyothy Laboratories (down 1.32%), Marico (down 0.96%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 0.66%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.44%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (down 0.35%) and Nestle India (down 0.1%), edged lower. Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.04%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.04%), Britannia Industries (up 0.36%), Tata Global Beverages (up 0.36%) and Dabur India (up 0.80%), edged higher.

Most capital goods shares declined. Punj Lloyd (down 5%), Crompton Greaves (down 2.97%), Jindal Saw (down 2.05%), Praj Industries (down 1.76%), Reliance Defence and Engineering (down 1.41%), Suzlon Energy (down 1.33%), BEML (down 0.71%), GE Power India (down 0.59%), SKF India (down 0.46%), GE T&D India (down 0.34%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 0.28%), Thermax (down 0.21%) and AIA Engineering (down 0.19%), edged lower. Bharat Electronics (up 0.41%), Lakshmi Machine Works (up 0.53%), Siemens (up 0.83%), ABB India (up 2.42%) and Havells India (up 3.34%), edged higher.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro was down 0.55% to Rs 1,307.

Overseas, shares in Europe and Asia were in negative territory on Tuesday amid concerns on slowing global growth after IMF slashed its world economic forecast on Monday. US market was closed on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

IMF revised down its estimates for global growth on Monday, warning that the expansion seen in recent years is losing momentum. The Fund now projects a 3.5% growth rate worldwide for 2019 and 3.6% for 2020. These are 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points below its last forecasts in October -- making it the second downturn revision in three months.

IMF said India's economy is poised to pick up this year. IMF's World Economic Outlook Update, released yesterday by its chief economist Gita Gopinath in Davos, projected that India will grow at 7.5% this year and 7.7% in 2020, an impressive over one percentage point ahead of China's estimated growth of 6.2% in these two years.

The IMF attributed the pick up to lower oil prices and a slower pace of monetary tightening. IMF said India would remain one of the fastest growing major economies of the world.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News