Markets edged lower in today’s trade ending the week on a negative note. S&P BSE Sensex started the day on a volatile note despite the strong start in other Asian markets. Volatility continued throughout the morning and afternoon session, furthered hampered by the poor showing on the European front. The benchmark index closed trade at 19,727, down 0.84% from it previous close. CNX Nifty also ended lower to close at 5833, down 0.83%. In the broader market space, BSE Midcap closed with losses of 0.1% while the Small cap index out was the out performer with a gain of 0.31%.
Interest sensitive sectors went for a toss, suspecting a further hike in repo rates after RBI governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday, 26th September, that consumer inflation is still not at comfort levels and the RBI will take steps to curtail it. This came after an already unexpected hike of 25 basis points in repo rate in the previous policy review held on 20th September.
In the BSE sectoral space, ten out of the thirteen sectors closed with losses. Defensive sectors featured at the top of the list while interest rate sensitive sectors bore the brunt of rate uncertainties. BSE FMCG was the top gainer with an upside of 0.42%. This was followed by BSE Oil & Gas and BSE IT which rose 0.15% and 0.07%. On the other end of the spectrum, banking sector lost nearly 2% in today’s trade. Metal, Realty and Capital goods followed with a downside of 1.61%, 1.48% and 1.42%, respectively.
Among the 30 scrips part of the benchmark index, six rose while others declined. Top gainers included Hero Moto Corp (1.64%), Sun Pharma (1.45%), Coal India (1.12%), TCS (0.31%), Jindal Steel (0.25%) and RIL (0.2%). Bottom performers include BHEL (-4.29%), Tata Steel (-3.89%), Bharti Airtel (-2.84%), Hindalco Inds (-2.73%) and ICICI Bank (-2.31%).
Foreign Institutional Investors were net sellers for the day. Equity outflows stood at 245 crores today. Market breadth was negative as 1602 scrips advanced while 1757 declined on the National Stock Exchange.
