Benchmark Sensex extended its slide for the second session today, suffering its first weekly drop in six, as lacklustre global cues and less-than-stellar earnings compelled investors to unwind bets.
The BSE Sensex tumbled over 188 points to close at 34,915.38, while the Nifty shed 61.40 points to 10,618.25 on across-the-board selling.
Barring BSE Consumer Durables, all other sectoral indices ended in the red.
Unabated foreign fund outflows and a weak rupee added to the gloom, brokers said.
Global cues were weak as investors eyed the outcome of US-China trade talks as well as the US jobs report.
The BSE 30-share barometer opened higher at 35,144.96 and advanced to 35,206.55 in morning trade on value-buying in recently battered stocks.
However, profit booking at every rise pulled it down to a low of 34,847.61.
It finally finished at 34,915.38, down 187.76 points or 0.53 per cent. This is its weakest closing since April 26, when it had settled at 34,713.60.
The wider NSE Nifty too fell by 61.40 points or 0.57 per cent to end at 10,618.25. It shuttled between 10,700.45 and 10,601.60 during the session.
On a weekly basis, the benchmarks recorded their first weekly drop in six. The Sensex lost 54.32 points, or 0.16 per cent, while the Nifty dropped 74.05 points, or 0.69 per cent during the week.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 148.42 crore and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 578.92 crore in yesterday’s trade, provisional data showed.
“Market continued to fall amid weak global cues and flight of foreign funds ahead of US job data. Rupee weakened as positive US employment data might lead to Fed’s monetary tightening.
“Mixed earnings from corporates and valuation concerns compared to other emerging markets influenced investors to book some profit,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
On the macro front, India’s services sector continued to improve in April, mainly spurred by increased business activities, and job-creation accelerated at the fastest pace in more than seven years, a monthly survey showed.
With growth in new orders and easing inflationary pressures also helping in improved demand conditions, the Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index climbed to 51.4 in April from 50.3 in March.
In the Sensex kitty, Sun Pharma emerged as the biggest gainer, losing 2.95 per cent, followed by Yes Bank at 2.43 per cent.
Other laggards were Bajaj Auto, down 2.42 per cent, ITC 2.37 per cent, Axis Bank 2.27 per cent, Coal India 2.05 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.93 per cent, NTPC 1.86 per cent, M&M 1.03 per cent, Asian Paints 1.02 per cent, HDFC 0.93 per cent, RIl 0.90 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 0.88 per cent, Infosys 0.76 per cent, Dr Reddy’s 0.74 per cent, Tata Steel 0.74 per cent, l&T 0.72 per cent, ONGC 0.22 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank 0.15 per cent.
In contrast, Adani Ports rose 2.87 per cent, HUl 0.90 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.80 per cent, Power Grid 0.68 per cent, IndusInd Bank 0.58 per cent, ICICI Bank 0.39 per cent, Tata Motors 0.24 per cent, Hero Motocorp 0.07 per cent and SBI 0.06 per cent.
Sector-wise, the BSE auto index fell the most at 1.10 per cent, followed by healthcare 1.05 per cent, metal 1.05 per cent, FMCG 0.83 per cent, power 0.81 per cent, teck 0.45 per cent, capital goods 0.45 per cent, IT 0.40 per cent, PSU 0.38 per cent, realty 0.25 per cent, oil & gas 0.19 per cent and banking 0.06 per cent.
Consumer durables rose by 1.19 per cent.
A similar trend was witnessed in the broader markets as investors pared their portfolios, pulling down the mid-cap index by 0.35 per cent and the small-cap by 0.25 per cent.
Shares of PC Jeweller surged 43.72 per cent after the company yesterday denied reports that the CBI has arrested its owner.
JSW Energy ltd shares slumped 7.66 per cent after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 483.07 crore for the quarter ended March 31.
Hexaware Technologies too plunged 14.15 per cent after it reported lower-than-expected earnings.
In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.28 per cent. Shanghai Composite Index edged lower by 0.32 per cent, Singapore fell 0.85 per cent, while the Nikkei in Japan remained closed for a holiday.
In the Eurozone, Paris CAC 40 fell 0.21 per cent while Frankfurt’s DAX was higher by 0.25 per cent in early deals. london’s FTSE too was up 0.41 per cent.