F&O expiry session turned out to be another disappointing session for the Indian equity indices which got pounded by over half percentage point. Indian barometer gauges, prolonging their southward journey for fifth consecutive session, snapped the day’s trade with over half a percent cuts on extremely large volumes on feeble global cues. Selling was both brutal and wide-based as, barring consumer durables and auto; none of sectoral indices on BSE could manage a green close. Counters, which featured in the list of worst performers, include banking, realty and metal. Though, the benchmark equity indices went on to stage a swift recovery in the last leg of trade on Thursday after suffering hefty pounding through the first half.
The key gauges even breached the psychological 6,030 (Nifty) and 20,350 (Sensex) levels in the noon session as selling pressure got aggravated after the European markets made a negative opening. The Asian peers too ended in the red, as sentiments remained dampened after US Federal Reserve announced plans to scale back its bond purchases by another $10 billion to $65 billion a month. Moreover, weak data on Chinese manufacturing activity too spooked sentiments to a notable extent.
Back home, sentiments remained dampened with Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan saying that inflation is both a monetary and political issue and wanted the political establishment to understand the importance of curbing rising prices. Weakness in Indian rupee against dollar too dampened the investors’ confidence. The rupee was trading at 62.79 per dollar at the time of equity markets closing as compared to previous close of 62.42 per dollar.
Selling in metal counter also spooked sentiments, as stocks like, Nalco, Sesa Sterlite, JSW Steel etc edged lower after weak Chinese manufacturing data. Moreover, stocks related to public oil marketing companies (OMC), viz. BPCL and HPCL ended lower on the Union Cabinet’s decision of approving a proposal to raise the quota of subsidized LPG cylinders from 9 to 12 per household in a year.
However, covering of hefty short positions, in the late hours of trade, ensured that the benchmarks recover over a percentage points from the low points of the day and settled above their crucial 6,050 (Nifty) and 20,450 (Sensex) bastions. Some support also came after fertilizer stocks, like Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) and National Fertilizers gained after Group of Ministers okayed the proposal to hike fixed cost of Urea by Rs 350 per tonne.
The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty declined by over forty points to end below its psychological 6,100 support level, moreover Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex shed by around one hundred and fifty points to end below its psychological 20,500 mark. Broader markets too struggled to get some traction and ended the session with a cut of over a percentage point. The market breadth remained in the favour of decliners, as there were 865 shares on the gaining side against 1,715 shares on the losing side, while 129 shares remained unchanged.
Finally, the BSE Sensex plunged by 149.05 points or 0.72%, to settle at 20498.25, while the CNX Nifty lost 46.55 points or 0.76% to settle at 6,073.70.
The key gauges even breached the psychological 6,030 (Nifty) and 20,350 (Sensex) levels in the noon session as selling pressure got aggravated after the European markets made a negative opening. The Asian peers too ended in the red, as sentiments remained dampened after US Federal Reserve announced plans to scale back its bond purchases by another $10 billion to $65 billion a month. Moreover, weak data on Chinese manufacturing activity too spooked sentiments to a notable extent.
Back home, sentiments remained dampened with Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan saying that inflation is both a monetary and political issue and wanted the political establishment to understand the importance of curbing rising prices. Weakness in Indian rupee against dollar too dampened the investors’ confidence. The rupee was trading at 62.79 per dollar at the time of equity markets closing as compared to previous close of 62.42 per dollar.
Selling in metal counter also spooked sentiments, as stocks like, Nalco, Sesa Sterlite, JSW Steel etc edged lower after weak Chinese manufacturing data. Moreover, stocks related to public oil marketing companies (OMC), viz. BPCL and HPCL ended lower on the Union Cabinet’s decision of approving a proposal to raise the quota of subsidized LPG cylinders from 9 to 12 per household in a year.
However, covering of hefty short positions, in the late hours of trade, ensured that the benchmarks recover over a percentage points from the low points of the day and settled above their crucial 6,050 (Nifty) and 20,450 (Sensex) bastions. Some support also came after fertilizer stocks, like Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) and National Fertilizers gained after Group of Ministers okayed the proposal to hike fixed cost of Urea by Rs 350 per tonne.
The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty declined by over forty points to end below its psychological 6,100 support level, moreover Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex shed by around one hundred and fifty points to end below its psychological 20,500 mark. Broader markets too struggled to get some traction and ended the session with a cut of over a percentage point. The market breadth remained in the favour of decliners, as there were 865 shares on the gaining side against 1,715 shares on the losing side, while 129 shares remained unchanged.
Finally, the BSE Sensex plunged by 149.05 points or 0.72%, to settle at 20498.25, while the CNX Nifty lost 46.55 points or 0.76% to settle at 6,073.70.
