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Markets witnessed selling pressure with oil shares losing the most after the government postponed its decision on gas pricing till Nov 15. Further, selling by foreign funds and expiry of September derivative contracts is also weighing on market sentiment.
At 10:45AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 104 points at 26,641 and the 50-share Nifty was down 31 points at 7,971.
The Indian rupee was trading at 61.01 compared to Wednesday's 60.96 close. Month-end dollar demand from importers is hurting the Indian unit. Foreign fund flows will remain key for direction during the day.
The BSE Power, Metal, Oil and Gas, Bankex are the top sectoral losers on the BSE.
Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 2% each after the government deferred its decision on gas pricing till November 15.
State-owned banks were under pressure on account of quality assets concerns on account of their advances to companies whose coal block allocations have been cancelled. SBI, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, PNB and Canara Bank were down 3-6% each.
In the metal pack, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite down 1-3% with Jindal Steel slumping 8% as the company would be the most impacted by the SC verdict and concerns over huge penalty it would have to pay.
Meanwhile, TCS, Infosys and ITC were among the Sensex gainers.
Among other shares, Jaiprakash Power Ventures slipped over 11% to Rs 12.10 after the company called off its latest discussions with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Power to sell off its hydro power portfolio.
Market breadth was weak with 1,685 losers and 627 gainers on the BSE.
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(Updated at 9:30AM)
Markets opened marginally higher with metal and power shares in action after the Supreme Court's verdict on coal block allocations. Meanwhhile, further upsides are likely to be capped on caution ahead of the expiry of September derivative contracts later today.
At 9:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 9 points at 26,753 and the 50-share Nifty was trading flat at 8,002
At 10:45AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 104 points at 26,641 and the 50-share Nifty was down 31 points at 7,971.
The Indian rupee was trading at 61.01 compared to Wednesday's 60.96 close. Month-end dollar demand from importers is hurting the Indian unit. Foreign fund flows will remain key for direction during the day.
The BSE Power, Metal, Oil and Gas, Bankex are the top sectoral losers on the BSE.
Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 2% each after the government deferred its decision on gas pricing till November 15.
State-owned banks were under pressure on account of quality assets concerns on account of their advances to companies whose coal block allocations have been cancelled. SBI, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, PNB and Canara Bank were down 3-6% each.
In the metal pack, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite down 1-3% with Jindal Steel slumping 8% as the company would be the most impacted by the SC verdict and concerns over huge penalty it would have to pay.
Meanwhile, TCS, Infosys and ITC were among the Sensex gainers.
Among other shares, Jaiprakash Power Ventures slipped over 11% to Rs 12.10 after the company called off its latest discussions with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Power to sell off its hydro power portfolio.
Market breadth was weak with 1,685 losers and 627 gainers on the BSE.
______________________________
(Updated at 9:30AM)
Markets opened marginally higher with metal and power shares in action after the Supreme Court's verdict on coal block allocations. Meanwhhile, further upsides are likely to be capped on caution ahead of the expiry of September derivative contracts later today.
At 9:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 9 points at 26,753 and the 50-share Nifty was trading flat at 8,002
Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers to the tune of Rs 794 crore in the cash market on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled all but four coal block allocations, made by successive governments over the past two decades, on the grounds of illegality under the Coal Mining Nationalisation Act. The decision is estimated to impact around Rs 2.85 lakh crore worth of investments linked to the 214 coal blocks and their end-use plants. The four allocations spared in the order are those belonging to Reliance Power's Sasan ultra mega power project, and government-owned NTPC and SAIL.
Apart from cancellation of allotment companies will have to pay a penalty on the production till date, at Rs 295 per tonne.
Coal India was the top Sensex as the company is the beneficiary from the SC verdict on coal block allocations followed by M&M, Cipla, HUL, L&T, BHEL, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Steel among others.
Jindal Steel and Power extended losses and was down 5% after several brokerages downgraded the stock as the SC verdict will negatively impact the company in addition to the huge penalty it would have to pay.
Among the PSU banks, PNB, Canara Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were down over 2% as the cancellation of 214 coal blocks is a major worry. Of the metals, mining and power companies whose coal blocks have been cancelled, the top 11 (in terms of borrowings) together owe lenders about Rs 2.7 lakh crore.
The broader market was trading flat with BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices up 0.2-0.4% each.
Asian markets were trading higher tracking gains on Wall Street and the dollar firmed up against major currencies after better-than-expected economic data in the US.
Japanese shares firmed up with exporters shares in action after the yen weakened agains the dollar. The benchmark Nikkei was up 1.2%. Shanghai Composite was up 0.5% while shares in Hong Kong and Singapore were trading flat with negative bias. The Hang Seng and Straits Times were both down 0.1% each.
Major US indices ended higher on Wednesday with the S&P 500 rebounding after losses in the previous three sessions led by healthcare and biotechnology shares.
New home sales grew at a faster pace in August offsetting concerns that in the housing sector after disappointing existing home sales.
The Dow Jones ended up 156 points at 17,211.47 , the S&P 500 gained 16 points at 1,998.42 and Nasdaq rose 47 points at 4,555.
