Telecom, cement stocks drop

The stock market continued to languish in red in early afternoon trade amid a global sell-off. At 12:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 481.67 points or 1.4% at 33,931.49. The Nifty 50 index slipped 149.05 points or 1.41% at 10,427.80. The Sensex was trading below the 34,000 level after falling below that level in intraday trade. Asian stocks declined sharply today after a rout on Wall Street overnight amid rising interest rates.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.65%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.4%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Key indices had opened today's session on a shaky note on weak global cues. Indices languished in negative terrain within a small range so far.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 1,580 shares declined and 927 shares advanced. A total of 136 shares were unchanged.

Among sectors, telecom and telecom tower related infrastructure stocks declined. Bharti Infratel was down 2.34%, Idea Cellular 1.81%, Reliance Communications 1.51% and Bharti Airtel 0.95%.

Cement stocks also fell. Ambuja Cements was down 1.74%, UltraTech Cement 1.65%, ACC 1.46%, Grasim Industries 1.17% and Shree Cement 0.56%.

Reliance Capital gained 0.82% after consolidated net profit rose 50.7% to Rs 315 crore on 20.4% increase in total income to Rs 4771 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The results were announced after market hours yesterday, 8 February 2018.

TV Today Network spurted 4.45% after net profit surged 35.75% to Rs 35.73 crore on 22.66% rise in total income to Rs 179.13 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The results were announced after market hours yesterday, 8 February 2018.

Overseas, Asian stocks tumbled after US stocks plummeted once again in the last session. China inflation as represented by the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.6% month-on-month in January, well above the previous month's print of 0.3%, data released today, 9 February 2018 showed.

US stocks fell sharply yesterday, 8 February 2018 as strong earnings and economic data were not enough to quell investors' jitters on Wall Street about higher interest rates. US initial jobless claims decreased 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ended 3 February, the Labor Department said yesterday, 8 February 2018. The second straight weekly decline in claims pointed to strong job growth momentum.

In Europe, the Bank of England (BoE) yesterday, 8 February 2018, said it is likely to raise interest rates earlier and faster than previously expected to damp the effects of a stronger global economy on UK inflation. All nine members of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee agreed a statement that the central bank was no longer willing to tolerate inflation above its 2% target over the next three years, reports suggested.

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