Despite strong cues from global bourses, stock markets today snapped four-day rally with the BSE benchmark Sensex shedding over 62 points, triggered by sell-off in banking heavy-weights like ICICI Bank and SBI.
Marketmen said the widening current account deficit, which represents net flow of income out of the country, barring capital movements, and inflationary pressures weighed heavily on the street.
They said investors were wary that the Reserve Bank might raise policy rates at its monetary review meeting later this month, and that affected banking stocks.
Despite opening firm, the Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index pared early gains to settle at 20,498.72, down 62.33 points or 0.30 per cent from previous close.
In a similar range-bound trade, the National Stock Exchange’s wide—based Nifty declined by 11.25 points or 0.18 per cent to finish at 6,146.35.
Profit-booking in the banking and realty counters dragged the market down, although buying interest in FMCG and oil & gas stocks provided it some support.
“A 72 per cent rise in India’s current account deficit in the July-September quarter over the same period last year acted as a dampener for the market as it may restrict the FII flows in the country,” Networth Stock Broking head of institutional business Prakash Diwan said.
The 4-day party on the bourses was spoilt primarily by major financial stocks, which, according to experts, came under pressure on fears of probable interest rate hike by RBI at its meeting later this month to curb inflation.
Private sector lender ICICI Bank, with a loss of 3.45 per cent was the worst hit, while the country’s largest bank SBI suffered a loss of 3.09 per cent. HDFC Bank was no better, with a dip of 1.97 per cent.
Second straight day of hammering of the two-wheeler giant Bajaj Auto also contributed to the weakness. Heavy selling in the counter pulled down Bajaj Auto by 3.12 per cent.
Losses in the key index were offset by a gain of 2.12 per cent in the energy major Reliance Industries, which carries the maximum weight on Sensex.
“RIL is a fundamentally strong company and has not participated in the recent market rally. In the coming sessions, the rise in the scrip is likely to lift the broader market,” Unicon Financial Services CEO Gajendra Nagpal said.
FMCG giants including Hindustan Unilever and ITC also came to the rescue of the market, as the former surged by 2.54 per cent, while the latter witnessed a jump of 1.78 per cent.
“The companies are restructuring their product portfolios and are likely to report smart third quarter numbers,” Mr. Diwan said.
Index heavy-weight Infosys Technologies today soared to a record high with a gain of over one per cent, in hopes of strong earnings. The IT bellwether will report its third quarter numbers on January 13.
Domestic stock market was among the weakest performers today, even as markets in Asia and Europe saw a smart surge.
While China’s Shanghai and Japan’s Nikkei advanced by 1.59 per cent and 1.65 per cent respectively, European bourses were also trading firm in the afternoon session.
