Mumbai: The domestic stock market extended loses to a fifth straight session today as the benchmark BSE Sensex slipped by 181 points to fall to a one-month low of 26,656.83 bogged down by weaker-than-expected quarterly numbers of heavyweights, ITC and L&T.
ITC was among the worst performers on Sensex and Nifty with over 4 per cent plunge in share prices after the firm’s second quarter earnings failed to impress investors. The FMCG major posted a marginal rise in standalone net profit at Rs 2,431.25 crore for the September quarter. Whereas, diversified group L&T fell 4.11 per cent after its second quarter net profit missed market estimates.
The November month derivatives series began on a positive note as the 30-share Sensex rose around 105 points in early trade to touch a high of 26,942.29, however on emergence of selling on tepid earnings by some blue-chips, the index dipped to the session’s low of 26,585.20.
It finally settled lower by 181.31 points or 0.68 per cent at 26,656.83 — its weakest closing since October 1. Some major losers were Vedanta, M&M, BHEL, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, ONGC, GAIL, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Infosys, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Wipro and Cipla. However, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Hindalco and RIL ended in positive terrain.
The NSE Nifty slipped below the 8,100-mark by falling 45.95 points or 0.57 per cent to 8,065.80. It shuttled between 8,146.10 and 8,044.40, intraday. On a weekly basis, the Sensex lost 813.98 points or 3.05 per cent and the NSE Nifty plunged by 229.70 points or 2.84 per cent.
“Tepid earnings by several blue-chip companies so far continue to drive market into consolidation,” said Manoj Choraria, a Delhi-based NSE broker. Sectorwise, the BSE capital goods index suffered the most by falling 2.65 per cent, followed by FMCG at 2.34 per cent, realty 1.39 per cent, auto 1.20 per cent, metal 0.93 per cent and IT 0.54 per cent.
Broader markets also fell with the BSE small-cap falling 0.78 per cent and mid-cap declining 0.13 per cent. Meanwhile, foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 174.12 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Most Asian markets ended mixed, while European stocks were trading a shade lower in their early trade.
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