Index heavyweights play spoilsport, Sensex sheds1,053 points, Nifty drops 330.15 points

Equity benchmark index Sensex tumbled 1,053 points to close below the 71,000 level on Tuesday, dragged down by index heavyweights HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and SBI amid mixed global cues.

Concerns over subdued quarterly performance by corporates triggered selling pressure in most of the counters, according to traders.

After opening with gains of nearly 450 points, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 1,053.10 points or 1.47 per cent to settle at 70,370.55. The index hit the lowest intraday level of 70,234.55. It also touched an intraday high of 72,039.20.

Broader Nifty also declined 330.15 points or 1.53 per cent to close at 21,241.65.

Among the Sensex firms, IndusInd Bank was the biggest loser and fell 6.13 per cent, followed by SBI (3.99 pc), Hindustan Unilever (3.82 pc), Axis Bank (3.41 pc) and HDFC Bank (3.23 pc).

In contrast, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and PowerGrid defied the trend and closed with gains of up to 3.67 per cent. TCS and Bajaj Finserve were the other gainers.

A total of 24 stocks of the 30-share index closed with losses.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed with a sharp gain of 2.63 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite increased by 0.52 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 per cent.

European markets were trading lower on Tuesday with Germany's DAX down 0.09 per cent and CAC 40 of France losing 0.16 per cent. London's FTSE 100 also declined 0.13 per cent.

In the US markets, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed with gains of up to 0.36 per cent on Monday.

The domestic equity market was closed on January 22 due to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, while NSE and BSE held normal trading sessions on Saturday.

On Saturday, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 259.58 points or 0.36 per cent to settle at 71,423.65. The Nifty declined 50.60 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 21,571.80.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.40 per cent to $79.74 a barrel on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 545.58 crore on Saturday, according to exchange data.

Rupee weak

The rupee depreciated 9 paise to 83.16 (provisional) against the US dollar, as elevated crude oil prices and weak domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments.

Forex traders said foreign fund outflows also put pressure on the rupee. However, a weak US Dollar overseas cushioned the downside.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.11 and finally settled at 83.16 (provisional) against the dollar, down by 9 paise from its previous close.

During the day, it witnessed an intraday high of 83.06 and a low of 83.17 against the American currency.

On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.07 against the US dollar.

"We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on weak domestic markets and selling pressure from foreign investors.

"Any further increase in crude oil prices may also weigh on the rupee. However, positive global markets and a weak Dollar may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may remain cautious ahead of Richmond manufacturing index data from the US," said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Choudhary further noted that USD/INR spot price is likely to trade in a range of Rs 82.80-83.50.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.10 per cent to 103.22.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.40 per cent to $79.74 a barrel on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped $1.634 billion to $618.937 billion for the week ended January 12, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had declined sharply by $5.89 billion to $617.3 billion.

Oil slips

Crude oil futures on Tuesday declined 0.53 per cent to Rs 6,232 per barrel as participants trimmed their positions on low demand.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for February delivery fell Rs 33 or 0.53 per cent to Rs 6,232 per barrel with a business volume of 11,564 lots.

Globally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded 2.42 per cent lower at $75.19 per barrel, while global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.40 per cent to $79.74 a barrel on Tuesday.