Sensex, Nifty tank nearly 1% on global cues, FMCG, bank, metal stocks hit worst

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty surrendered early gains to close with deep losses on Monday, snapping their two-day winning streak as investors pared exposure to banking, metal and FMCG stocks amid a weak trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 670.93 points or 0.93 per cent to settle at 71,355.22. During the day, it fell 725.11 points or 1 per cent to 71,301.04.

The Nifty declined 197.80 points or 0.91 per cent to 21,513.

Among the Sensex firms, State Bank of India, ITC, Nestle, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Hindustan Unilever were the major laggards.

In contrast, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and Titan were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday.

European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended marginally up on Friday.

"The market witnessed widespread selling as the euphoria over early rate cuts may diminish due to the better-than-expected non-farm payroll data from the US and the consequent rise in the US 10-year yield. In the near term, investors’ trade positions will be more inclined towards the upcoming result season," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.21 per cent to USD 77.81 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,696.86 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark jumped 178.58 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 72,026.15 on Friday. The Nifty climbed 52.20 points or 0.24 per cent to 21,710.80.

Rupee up

The rupee pared all its initial gains to settle just 1 paisa higher at 83.14 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, as the downward movement in crude oil prices in international markets supported the local unit.

However, a strong American currency overseas and negative domestic equities dented overall sentiment, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 83.09 and oscillated between the peak of 83.04 and the lowest level of 83.16 against the greenback during the session.

The domestic currency finally settled at 83.14 (provisional), up 1 paisa from its previous close.

On Friday, the domestic currency settled with a gain of 9 paise at 83.15 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.06 per cent higher at 102.18 on Monday.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.14 per cent to $77.86 per barrel.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, the services sector growth in India rose to a three-month high in December supported by favourable economic conditions and positive demand trends.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 56.9 in November to 59 in December, highlighting a sharp increase in output.

The country's forex reserves jumped by $2.759 billion to $623.2 billion in the week ended December 29, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

Gold slips Rs 250, Silver sheds Rs.400

Gold prices slipped Rs 250 to Rs 63,200 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday amid a decline in precious metal prices internationally, according to HDFC Securities.

The precious metal had settled at Rs 63,450 per 10 grams in the previous close.

Silver also slumped Rs 400 to Rs 76,300 per kilogram. In the previous trade, silver closed at Rs 76,700 per kg.

In the futures trade on the MCX, the February contract of gold plunged Rs 355 to Rs 62,202 per 10 grams. Also, the March contract of silver tumbled Rs 415 to Rs 72,172 per kg on the bourse.

In the overseas markets, both gold and silver were trading lower at $2,029 per ounce and USD 22.95 per ounce, respectively.

"Following strong US labour market data which stoked investor anticipation that the Federal Reserve might delay interest rate cuts led to a decline in gold prices," Saumil Gandhi, senior analyst of commodities at HDFC Securities, said.

Spot gold at Comex was trading at $2,029 per ounce, down by USD 16 from the previous close in the international markets.

"Focus this week will be on the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) data which could provide further clarity on the Fed's monetary policy interest rate path ahead," Navneet Damani, Senior VP of commodity research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said.