Weakness continued on the bourses as key benchmark indices remained sharply lower in early afternoon trade. At 12:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was off 456.69 points or 1.77% at 25,308.09. The 50-unit CNX Nifty was currently down 153.65 points or 1.96% at 7,669.35. Earlier, the Sensex hit its lowest level in more than 13 months when it plunged 571.37 points at the day's low of 25,193.41 in mid-morning trade. Around that time, Nifty hit its lowest level in more than a year when it plunged 183.50 points at the day's low of 7,639.50 in mid-morning trade.
The broad market depicted weakness. There were more than five losers against every gainer on BSE. 1,953 shares declined and 371 shares rose. A total of 77 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was off 2.25%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 2.59%. The decline in both these indices was higher than Sensex's decline in percentage terms.
In sector trends, shares of oil exploration and production (E&P) firms dropped. Cairn India (down 3.01%), Oil India (down 2.64%), ONGC (down 2.29%) and Reliance Industries (down 1.96%) edged lower.
Shares of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) also declined. BPCL (down 0.03%) and HPCL (down 2.03%) edged lower.
Indian Oil Corporation dropped 1.1% as the stock turned ex-dividend today, 4 September 2015, for dividend of Rs 6.60 per share for the year ended 31 March 2015.
Realty stocks tumbled. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 9.07%), Housing Development & Infrastructure (down 8.66%), DLF (down 5.26%), Unitech (down 5.39%), D B Realty (down 4.45%), Oberoi Realty (down 3.14%), Godrej Properties (down 2.23%) and Sobha (down 1.38%) edged lower. Prestige Estates Projects (up 4.37%) edged higher.
Among individual stocks, Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) lost 4.15% at Rs 71.60. The stock hit a high of Rs 75.40 and a low of Rs 69.95 so far during the day. LVB at its board meeting held yesterday, 3 September 2015, resolved to seek the permission of the Reserve Bank of India for increasing the promoters' holding to 25% of the bank's paid-up capital and individual group holding to 10% of the paid-up capital of the bank. The bank made the announcement after market hours yesterday, 3 September 2015. Promoters currently hold 9.54% stake in LVB (as per the shareholding pattern as at 30 June 2015).
Separately, LVB also announced after market hours yesterday, 3 September 2015, that Rakesh Sharma, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank has submitted his resignation following his appointment as MD & CEO of Canara Bank and the board has accepted his resignation. Sharma will be relieved from his services at the close of office hours on 9 September 2015.
In overseas markets, Asian stocks were in red on caution ahead of the influential monthly US job data for August 2015. The job data could be a key factor for the US Federal Reserve on its decision whether to raise interest rates at its two-day monetary policy meeting which begins on 16 September 2015.
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