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The Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Thursday, snapping a four-day winning streak, due to selling pressure in oil & gas, consumer durables and PSU stocks amid weak global cues.
Domestic investors remained subdued owing to lack of fresh tariffs after the central bank kept the policy rate unchanged in a move that was widely expected. Also, worries about sustained FII outflows continued to drag the trading sentiment.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended lower by 79.68 points or 0.25 per cent at 31,592.03 and the 50-share NSE index closed down by 26.2 points or 0.26 per cent at 9,888.70.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index gained the most by 0.86 per cent, followed by healthcare 0.35 per cent, metal 0.29 per cent and power 0.17 per cent. On the other hand, oil & gas index fell 0.56 per cent, consumer durables 0.4 per cent, PSU and banking 0.31 per cent each.
Top five Sensex gainers were NTPC (+1.79%), Coal India (+1.11%), M&M (+0.85%), Reliance (+0.61%) and Kotak Bank (+0.49%), while the major losers were PowerGrid (-1.99%), ICICI Bank (-1.54%), Hero MotoCorp (-0.97%), Bajaj Auto (-0.94%) and Axis Bank (-0.82%).
RBI policy review
The Reserve Bank of India had held its policy rate steady near seven-year lows on Wednesday after inflation surged, but looked to prop up the cooling economy by spurring banks into lending more.
The lack of monetary stimulus will leave it to the government to try to boost an economy that unexpectedly expanded at its slowest pace in more than three years in the April-June quarter, sparking talk that New Delhi is considering increasing spending and widening its fiscal deficit target.
“Until there is some trigger, markets will oscillate within a narrow range,” said Jayant Manglik, president, retail distribution, Religare Securities, adding that the bias would be downward as investors feel it is a bit risky to enter the market at higher levels.
According to provisional data from exchanges, share outflow from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were worth Rs 632.14 crore yesterday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 584.88 crore.
Asian shares were a tad firmer on Thursday, taking their cues from strong US data although holiday-thinned trade and uncertainty about the impact of recent hurricanes on the US economy are likely to keep investors cautious.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia–Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat while Japan’s Nikkei ticked up 0.1 per cent.
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