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Key benchmark indices continue to trade flat while stocks in broader market remained flat to positive. After hefty gains clocked in early trades, with Sensex touching 21,000 mark, market participants decided to take some profits.
At 02.37pm, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 20715 levels down over 55 points while the broader Nifty scrapped 6,162 levels down 16 points.
The rupee rose on Wednesday but gave up most of the gains on the back of strong dollar demand from state-run banks, intended to be channelled to pay the government's defence payment requirements and concerns about tighter monetary policy in China. It is trading at Rs 61.52-a-dollar currently, down 0.1% from its previous close.
Heavyweights such as TCS down 2.3%, RIL down 1.15, Coal India down 2.4%, pulled the market down while losses were capped by gains in L&T up 2%, ONGC up 1%, HDFC Bank up over 1% and Bharti Airtel up 1%.
Asian shares fell in volatile trade on Thursday and the dollar came under pressure as a further spike in Chinese money-market rates tempered the effect of data showing a pick-up in manufacturing.
China's benchmark seven-day repo rates opened up nearly a full percentage point at 5% after the central bank let cash drain from the money market for a second week.
India's ailing economy is likely to remain under pressure from weak domestic and foreign demand for some time, while uncertainty ahead of elections next year is expected to keep investors and businesses at bay, according to a Reuters poll. The poll of 24 economists showed gross domestic product (GDP) will grow 4.7% in the fiscal ending next March after expanding 5% in the previous year, which was the weakest since 2002/03.
In the broader market, BSE small-cap Index was down 0.2% while mid-caps were up around 0.1%.
Capital Goods, consumer durables, auto and banks were the only gainers among sectors on BSE. IT, TECK and Power were down over 1% while Realty, metals, healthcare, PSUs, oil&gas and FMCG were down between 0.1 - 0.8%.
