Sensex ends down 64 points in volatile trade

The domestic benchmark indices ended down on Wednesday.

Markets reeled for the second day as the Sensex today logged a fall of 64 points to end at 30,302, with no let—up in selling by foreign investors amid profit— booking at higher levels amid mixed global cues.

May derivatives contracts are set to expire tomorrow, which also held back investors.

The 30—share Sensex settled the session lower by 63.61 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 30,301.64.

The barometer had lost 205.72 points in the previous session after investors took profit amid volatile global cues in the aftermath of a terror attack in the UK.

The 50—share NSE Nifty regained the key 9,400—mark to touch a high of 9,431.90, but failed to hold on to the crucial level and settled down 25.60 points, or 0.27 per cent, to end at 9,360.55.

Sentiment remained volatile after the Indian Army carried out fire assaults on Pakistan posts across the Line of Control (LoC), traders said.

Mr. Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services Ltd, says: "Wobbly rupee and cross border tensions framed a volatile market, despite positive updates on early monsoons and some encouraging earning numbers. Consumer goods sector showcased some promise in the opening hours, which is a good sign ahead of the monsoon arrival. Markets will now focus on FOMC minutes and OPEC meet scheduled ahead, especially with oil holding well above $50.”

On the Nifty 50, 36 stocks declined to 14 that advanced.

The top five Nifty gainers : Tata Motors DVR (+5.5%), Tata Motors (+4.3%), GAIL (+2.2%), Adani Ports (+2.04%) and YES Bank (-1.74%).

Top five decliners on the Nifty : Aurobindo Pharma (-3.1%), Bank of Baroda (-3.02%), Cipla (-2.9%), Infratel (-2.6%) and ACC (-2.6%).

PSU banks, metal and pharma stocks came were under pressure with the Nifty sector indices declining by up to 2.2 per cent.

Global markets

World stocks inched lower on Wednesday after China's sovereign credit rating was downgraded and as investors eyed a pause in Wall Street's four-day winning streak, the longest in over three months.

The dollar and bond yields were steady, with investors growing gradually more confident that the Federal Reserve will raise U.S. interest rates next month, while oil rose for a sixth straight day in anticipation of an OPEC-led output cut on Wednesday that may be extended to the first quarter of 2018.

The biggest loser among major currencies was the Australian dollar, which is often regarded as a proxy for China due to the country's status as a major trading partner. It posted its biggest fall in two weeks.

But markets were mostly quiet on Wednesday, lacking impetus from fresh economic or corporate drivers. Investors shrugged off the rise in Britain's terror threat level to maximum in the wake of Monday's attack in Manchester, and the slide back in market volatility helped put a floor under European and U.S. stocks.

Europe's index of leading 300 shares was little changed in early trading on Wednesday at 1,541 points, supported by a 0.3 percent rise in financials but weighed down by a 0.5 percent fall in basic resources stocks.

Germany's DAX was down 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 was flat and Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.1 per cent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.1 percent, while Japan's Nikkei stock index ended 0.7 percent higher. MSCI's index of global shares fell 0.1 percent.

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