IT stocks, foreign funds outflow drag Indian equities lower (Roundup)

The Indian equity markets on Monday traded rangebound and closed on a flat-to-negative note on the back of outflow of foreign funds and heavy selling pressure in IT and Teck (technology, media and entertainment) stocks.

The wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) fell by 9 points or 0.09 per cent at close at 10,057.40 points.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 32,377.80 points, closed at 32,273.67 points -- down 51.74 points, or 0.16 per cent -- from its previous close at 32,325.41 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 32,396.14 points and a low of 32,235.82 points during intra-day trade.

However, the BSE market breadth was bullish with 1,550 advances and 1,055 declines.

In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index rose by 1.06 per cent and the small-cap index by 1.15 per cent. The mid-cap index touched a fresh high of 15,631.85 points during the day's trade.

"Markets ended marginally lower on Monday after a rangebound session. The main indices stayed in a small range of trade," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

"Major Asian markets have ended on a mixed note. European indices like FTSE 100 and CAC 40 traded higher," said Jasani.

On the currency front, the rupee weakened by 21-22 paise to close at 63.80 to a US dollar from its previous close at 63.58-59.

In investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold scrips worth Rs 199.21 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 308.15 crore.

"Indian shares edged higher on the first trading day of fresh week, as Tata Steel rose on expectations of strong quarterly results. However, broader gains were capped by profit-taking on concerns over valuations," Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.

"Both the NSE index and BSE index hit record highs last week, raising concerns that factors such as positive earnings and hopes of an improving economy were already factored into prices. Top gainers on the NSE were Tata Steel, Indian Oil Corporation and State Bank of India (SBI), while on the losing front were Infratel, NTPC and Infyosys," Desai added.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE IT index fell by 97.42 points, the Teck index by 48.88 points, and the telecom index was a tad lower by 2.05 points.

On the other hand, the S&P BSE oil and gas index surged by 237.28 points, the metal index by 145.41 points and the consumer durables index by 142.11 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Monday were: Tata Steel, up 4.26 per cent at Rs 600; SBI, up 1.85 per cent at Rs 311.10; Adani Ports, up 1.59 per cent at Rs 413.35; ICICI Bank, up 1.28 per cent at Rs 299.95; and Coal India, up 0.84 per cent at Rs 251.30.

Major Sensex losers were: Infosys, down 1.75 per cent at Rs 968.15; Tata Motors (DVR), down 1.72 per cent at Rs 251.15; NTPC, down 1.64 per cent at Rs 174.35; Dr. Reddy's Lab, down 1.51 per cent at Rs 2,210.30; and Mahindra and Mahindra, down 1.34 per cent at Rs 1,399.30.

--IANS

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