Key benchmark indices continued to hover in a narrow range near their intraday low in negative terrain during early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was off 220.81 points or 0.85% at 25,665.81. The Nifty 50 index was off 69.10 points or 0.88% at 7,795.05. Key indices fell today, 4 December 2015, in line with drop in global stocks after the European Central Bank (ECB)'s stimulus package announced after policy meet yesterday, 3 December 2015, fell well short of markets' high expectations.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was negative. On BSE, 1,340 shares fell and 1,042 shares rose. A total of 142 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently off 0.59%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently off 0.2%. The decline in both these indices was lower in percentage terms than the Sensex's fall.
In overseas markets, Asian stocks declined as the European Central Bank (ECB)'s stimulus package fell well short of markets' high expectations. US stocks dropped yesterday, 3 December 2015 as the ECB disappointed market hopes for greater stimulus. The ECB cut its deposit rate deeper into negative territory and extended its asset buys by six months, as expected. But some market participants had hoped for greater stimulus.
The ECB President Mario Draghi after a policy meet yesterday, 3 December 2015, announced the central bank would extend its massive 60 billion euro ($63.5 billion) a month bond-buying scheme to at least March 2017. The ECB cut its deposit rate further into negative territory by 10 basis points to a fresh low of -0.3%, down from -0.2%.
Telecom stocks were mixed. Bharti Airtel (down 0.02%) and Idea Cellular (down 1.93%) declined. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 1.45%) and Reliance Communications (up 0.42%) gained.
Cement stocks dropped. ACC (down 0.97%), Ambuja Cements (down 1.26 %), and UltraTech Cement (down 0.69%) declined. Shree Cement rose 1.02%.
Grasim Industries declined 0.3%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Electrosteel Steels rose 0.8% after the company said its board of directors will meet on 8 December 2015, inter-alia, to note the strategic debt restructuring package approved by the joint lenders forum of the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 December 2015.
Mindteck (India) rose 2.14% after the company announced that it has won a prestigious state government contract, along with two other technology companies. The consortium will integrate various Nagar Parishads under one platform to enable the implementation of eNagarpalika. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 4 December 2015.
In tandem with the other two consortium partners, Mindteck will implement the complete portal and will work with the government to deploy technical resources. The project, which is in line with the Government of India's digital and smart city initiatives, will enable the delivery of government services integrated with various Zila Parishads under one platform. It will benefit citizens by enabling easy access to services, such as birth and death certificates, building approval permissions, property tax and other government-related documents and services, the company said.
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