Sensex falls 153 points, ignoring FDI norms as rupee weakens

August 02, 2013 05:10 pm | Updated 06:25 pm IST - Mumbai

NEW DELHI : Sensex. PTI GRAPHICS  (PTI8_2_2013_000077B)

NEW DELHI : Sensex. PTI GRAPHICS (PTI8_2_2013_000077B)

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex on Friday surrendered initial gains from liberalised FDI norms and declined 153 points, the eighth day of losses, as the rupee weakened past the 61 level again.

The 30-share Sensex opened at 19,399.55 points and climbed to a high of 19,451.70 on buying in some blue chip counters from consumer durables, IT and refinery sectors following the government’s decision on Thursday to relax foreign direct investment (FDI) rules in several sectors.

Dragged down by a weak rupee and FII selling, the index then declined to 19,078.72 before closing at 19,164.02, a loss of 153.17 points, or 0.79 per cent. This is the second weekly drop for the Sensex, which has fallen 1,138.11 points, or 5.61 per cent, in the past eight sessions.

The 50-share Nifty index on the NSE dropped 49.95 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 5,677.90. The SX40 index on the MCX-SX closed 0.94 per cent lower.

“The fall in the markets during the week has come about despite good gains in global markets, indicating the pre-dominance of domestic concerns,” said Dipen Shah, head of Private Client Group Research at Kotak Securities. “The consistent weakness in the rupee, despite RBI’s and government’s efforts, has impacted sentiment.”

The rupee once again dropped to below the 61 mark against the dollar on demand from banks and importers. The local currency touched an all-time low of 61.21 on July 8.

To curb forex speculation, the RBI and market regulator SEBI had taken several steps, including restrictions on the futures market by way of raising margins and limiting positions that market participants can take.

RBI Governor D Subbarao on Friday reiterated that liquidity tightening measures will be rolled back only after stability is restored in the forex market as volatility hurts growth.

Realty, power, metal, PSU, capital goods, FMCG and banking sectors declined on heavy selling pressure.

Financial Technologies Ltd. was the biggest loser on the BSE for the second day, declining 21.12 per cent to Rs 151.25 after most trades were halted at unit National Spot Exchange Ltd.

Asian stocks ended higher as global manufacturing reports beat forecasts and central banks in Europe vowed to maintain stimulus. Key indices in Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea rose.

European stocks moved in a narrow range in early trade as investors awaited the nonfarm-payroll report from the US.

Benchmark indices in France and Germany inched up, while UK’s FTSE eased 0.15 per cent.

In the domestic market, 24 Sensex shares fell, including Jindal Steel (7.29 pc), Coal India (5.84 pc), Tata Power (3.93 pc), Sterlite Ind (3.92 pc), Tata Steel (3.74 pc), HUL (2.95 pc), ICICI Bank (2.85 pc), Sun Pharma (2.06 pc), Dr Reddy’s Lab (1.97 pc), M&M (1.92 pc), L&T (1.67 pc), ITC (1.6 pc), HDFC (1.13 pc), Bajaj Auto (1.26 pc) and ONGC (1.12 pc).

Among sectoral indices, the S&P BSE-Realty fell 4.01 per cent, followed by S&P BSE-Power (3.77 pc), S&P BSE—Metal (3.65 pc) and S&P BSE-PSU (2.64 pc). The S&P BSE—CD rose 5.38 per cent and S&P BSE-IT gained 0.96 per cent.

The market breadth remained negative, with 1,491 stocks lower and 775 higher. Total turnover dropped to Rs 1,855.70 crore from Rs 2,244.66 crore yesterday.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs 177.78 crore yesterday, according to provisional data with the stock exchanges.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.