Equity benchmark indices lost more than 1% each on Thursday with the broader Nifty falling to a seven-month low and the Sensex on the verge of wiping all of its gains in the current calendar year.
The Sensex lost 470.41 points or 1.29% to close at 36,093.47 – only a tad above the December 31, 2018 close of 36,068. This is also the lowest close for the index since March 1, when it ended at 36,063.81.
Banking heavyweights were the worst hit with Yes Bank shedding 15.52% to a multi-year low of ₹54.15 after a report from Moody’s said that among the banking majors, Yes Bank and Indusind Bank have the largest exposure to commercial real estate and could face issues related to asset quality. While Indusind Bank lost 3.59%, Sensex constituents — Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki India, SBI, Reliance Industries and ONGC — lost in excess of 2% each.
Meanwhile, the 50-share Nifty lost 135.85 points or 1.25% to close at 10,704.80, which is its lowest close since February 19. As many as 43 constituents of the Nifty declined on Thursday.
Unabated FPI selling
Market participants attributed the day’s fall to a combination of negative factors including low tax collection, U.S. Federal Reserve cutting rates, but more importantly hinting at no further rate cuts and unabated selling by foreign investors. Provisional data showed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net sellers at nearly ₹900 crore on Thursday.
Further, data from National Securities Depository Limited showed that FPIs have sold shares worth ₹4,833 crore in the current month. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors, which include banks, insurance companies and mutual funds, have been net buyers on most days with Thursday’s buying pegged at ₹646 crore.
The market breadth was weak with nearly 70% stocks on the BSE ending the day in the red. As many as 1,828 stocks declined, as against only 686 gainers. All the broader indices lost over 1% each on Thursday.
