A steep fall in Reliance Industries on Wednesday shaved 120 points off BSE benchmark Sensex, pushing it below the psychological 18,000 level for the first time in the last five days.
Notwithstanding, positive Asian trends and European sentiments, the 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed down 120.24 points, or 0.67 points, at 17,957.37 points. Indian markets were the only losers among the major bourses in the Asian region.
The National Stock Exchange’s 50-share Nifty index lost 0.67 per cent to finish at 5,394.35 points.
Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, which reported its best-ever 32.3 per cent jump in quarterly profit, plunged over 3 per cent to settle at Rs 1,020.95. RIL, which carries the maximum weight in the Sensex, was the biggest loser among the 30 index stocks.
Analysts attributed the fall in RIL to concerns that the gas production in the KG-D6 fields is unlikely to rise for the next 6-12 months as it need to study the reservoir for its sustainability.
“We think the next two quarters are unlikely to yield any earnings surprises as KG-D6 production remains constant and refining and petchem margins remain stable,” Elara Securities analyst Alok Deshpande said in a note.
“We believe that there will be some earnings cuts as the Street adjusts its estimates for delayed KG-D6 production ramp-up and slightly subdued GRMs. Factoring in delay in KG-D6 ramp-up and slower-than-expected refining demand pick-up, we have reduced our estimates,” he added.
Engineering major L&T declined for the second successive day after it posted a 58 per cent decline in its June quarter profit. L&T declined 2.06 per cent to settle at Rs 1,824.80.
HUL sank for another day ending 3 per cent lower after it posted a fall of 1.8 per cent in June quarter profit.
Realty giant DLF lost 2.36 per cent, erasing its Tuesday’s gains.
Most of the shares, which had gained on Tuesday after RBI announced moderate rate hike, lost the ground on Wednesday. ICICI Bank lost 1.63 per cent, Hero Honda 0.59 per cent and Maruti by 0.45 per cent.
In the Sensex components, 17 stocks ended in red while 13 managed to post gains.
Bucking the falling trend, SBI rose by 1.47 per cent, the most in the Sensex, and was followed by Cipla that gained 1.37 per cent. HDFC Bank rose by 1.03 per cent.
Among other gainers, ITC rose by 0.89 per cent and Tata Motors by 0.88 per cent.
The total market breadth continued to remain negative as 1,682 shares finished with losses against 1,197 that ended with gains on BSE.
The total volume shot up to Rs 5,028.00 crore from Rs 4,085.78 crore on Tuesday. Newly-listed Aster Silicates topped the list of highest traded securities with a turnover of Rs 591.05 crore.
Asian stocks ended in positive terrain on some strong corporate earnings. Key indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan ended up by between 0.20 per cent and 2.70 per cent. European stocks were also trading in positive zone in their late morning deals.
