Markets extend losses, banks drag

Auto, capital goods, banks and metal shares leading the downfall

Benchmark share indices have extended the losses with Sensex and Nifty declining by over 1% each. Weak global markets and Rupee hitting all time low have weighed over the local markets significantly. Selling among auto, capital goods, banks and metal shares are also leading the downfall.

At 10:35, the Sensex was down 208 points at 15,863 and the Nifty was down 65 points at 4,805. The Sensex had touched an intra-low of 15,839 and the Nifty touched an intra-day low of 4,796 so far.

The Rupee today tumbled by 35 paise to trade at a new all-time time low of Rs 54.82 against the US dollar in early trade on increased capital outflows and strong demand from importers for the American currency.

On the global front, Asian shares fell steeply on Friday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.6%, while Japan's Nikkei stock average opened down 1.7%. The Nikkei, Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite, Kospi, Taiwan and Straits Times are down between 1-3%.

Back home, BSE Auto index has slipped over 2% followed by counters like Metal, Consumer Durable, Capital Goods, Technology, Realty, Banks, Power, Oil & Gas and FMCG, all declining by nearly 1% each.

Tata Motors continue to remain the top Sensex loser, down over 3%. Among other Auto shares Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Hero Moto and M&M have slipped between 1-3%.

Metal shares like Sterlite, JSPL, Hindalco and Tata Steel have fallen between 1-2%.

Index heavyweight Infosys has slipped over 2%.

Capital Goods majors L&T and BHEL have plummeted between 1-2%.

Banking and financial stocks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and HDFC have plunged between 1-2%.

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has slipped by over 1%. The company has slashed prices of its third-generation (3G) mobile data services by about 70% under some plans.

Other frontline losers include GAIL, Tata Power, ONGC and Sun Pharma.

The broader indices too are witnessing selling pressure – BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down 0.6-0.9%.

Shares of aviation companies such as Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Kingfisher Airlines have rallied more than 3% each in otherwise weak market on reports that the government may clear the proposal of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the aviation sector in the next few weeks.

Among the individual stocks, SpiceJet has rallied 5.3% at Rs 28.60, followed by Kingfisher Airlines 4% at Rs 13.10 and Jet Airways 3.5% at Rs 298 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The market breadth remains weak with 1,219 declining and 754 shares advancing.