Disappointing results pull indices lower

Mumbai: The domestic markets posted the worst single-day fall in nearly one month as the benchmark BSE Sensex plunged by 205 points to 27,710.52 after earnings of HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank raised concerns over bad loans. Global cues remained largely muted. Investors also turned cautious over passage of the long- pending GST bill in Rajya Sabha in the ongoing Monsoon Session. Adding to this, profit-booking by retail investors dragged down mid-cap and small-cap indices by 0.19 per cent and 0.14 per cent, respectively.

After opening higher, the BSE Sensex eroded early gains and slipped into the negative zone on profit-book. The market barometer touched a low of 27,687.54. The Sensex finally settled 205.37 points or 0.74 per cent lower at 27,710.52. The previous biggest fall was on June 24, when Sensex fell 604.51 points.The NSE Nifty ended 55.75 points or 0.65 per cent down at 8,510.10. Intra-day, it touched a low of 8,503.45.

Shares of the second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank fell 0.30 per cent to Rs 1,228.45 despite reporting a 20.15 per cent increase in profit to Rs 3,238.91 crore. Kotak Mahindra Bank plummeted 2.71 per cent to Rs 760.80, even as it posted almost fourfold jump in standalone net profit to Rs 741.97 crore. Net NPAs rose to 1.06 per cent of net advances as of June quarter. Axis Bank was the worst performed on the Sensex, falling by 3.62 per cent to Rs 538.25.

Running out of fuel after the capital infusion announcement, banks fell in the wake of disappointed key earnings, while cement and pharma stocks gained on sector specific announcements.

While cement and pharma stocks gained on sector specific announcements, banks fell ahead of key earnings, and looked to have run out of fuel after the capital infusion announcement, lending a weak bias to market, said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
Riding on the initial rise, the total market valuation of the BSE-listed companies surged to an all-time high of Rs 107 lakh crore during the day.

However, it later pared some of the gains to settle at Rs 1,06,25,058 crore.
Shares of L&T Infotech made a sluggish debut on bourses, falling 1.73 per cent to Rs 697.65 against the issue price of Rs 710. Elsewhere, Asian shares ended mostly higher with Nikkei leading the pack by 0.77 per cent on reports that Japan is planning more stimulus.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.54 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.37 per cent. Europe, however, was lower with London’s FTSE down 0.37 per cent and Paris 0.41 per cent lower, while Frankfurt shed 0.20 per cent.

Rupee depreciated by five paise to 67.25 against the US dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to sustained demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

Rupee depreciated by five paise to 67.25 against the US dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to sustained demand for the American currency from importers and banks. Dealers attributed the rupee’s fall to increased demand for the American unit from importers and dollar’s strength against some other currencies overseas.

Source: PTI