Mumbai, July 1 (Inditop.com) Weak markets elsewhere in Asia and profit booking prompted a fall in a key index of the Indian equity markets, which dipped more than 35 points Wednesday from its last closing figure, after having risen in early morning trade.
Investors chose to book profits, resulting in the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, to fall sharply after opening higher at 14,506.43 points. It was at 14,426.8 points around noon – 35.51 points or 0.25 percent below Tuesday’s closing figure.
Around the same time, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, was ruling in the negative terrain, 0.19 percent down at 4,282.75 points.
Broader market indices were also under pressure, with the BSE midcap index trading 0.64 percent lower and the BSE smallcap index moving down 0.98 percent.
Of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE, 11 were in the red, with those for consumer durables, metal and energy scrips losing the most, while that for FMCG and IT stocks were up.
The market breadth was negative with 682 stocks advancing compared to 1,522 declining. Eighty-two remained unchanged.
Among gainers on the Sensex at this time were Hindustan Unilever, up 1.93 percent at Rs.272.25; Bharti Airtel, up 0.85 percent at Rs.808.90; Maruti Suzuki, up 0.84 percent at Rs.1,074.45; and Tata Motors, up 0.65 percent at Rs.293.05.
The losers included Hindalco, down 6.36 percent at Rs.80.95; Jaipraksh Associates, down 3.19 percent at Rs.198.50; ACC, down 2.19 percent at Rs.752.05; and Reliance Infra, down 1.98 percent at Rs.1,173.80.
In other Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, a key index of the Tokyo stock exchange, closed 18.51 points down to end Tuesday’s trade at 9,939.93 points.
The Hang Seng, a primary index of the Hong Kong stock exchange, was ruling at 18,378.73 points, down 149.78 points.
US stocks fell Tuesday as a key consumer confidence index dipped unexpectedly, reflecting pessimism about the US economy.
The New York-based Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence fell to 49.3, down from a May figure of 54.8 that was revised downward slightly by 0.1 points.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82.38 points or 0.97 percent to 8,447 points, while the broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index was down 7.91 points or 0.85 percent to 919.32.
The technology scrip-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 9.02 points or 0.49 percent, to 1,835.04 points.
