Indian share markets continued to witness selling pressure in the afternoon session as trade deficit widened to an almost 3-year high. The sentiments also remained subdued due to disappointing quarterly earnings and weak international markets.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 181 points and the NSE Nifty finished down by 69 points. The S&P BSE Mid Cap finished down by 1% while S&P BSE Small Cap finished down by 1.5%. Losses were largely seen in metal stocks, realty stocks and consumer durables’ stocks.
BSE Metal index fell 3% after global commodity prices slumped. A Bloomberg gauge of commodity prices slumped the most in six months after Chinese data Tuesday pointed to slowing industrial output, fixed-asset investment and retail sales.
NALCO share price and Hindalco share price shed 5.7% and 3% respectively, while Vedanta share price, Jindal steel and power share price and SAIL share price declined 4.3%, 5% and 4.6% respectively.
Asian stock markets finished broadly lower today with shares in Japan leading the region. The Nikkei 225 is down 1.57% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is off 1.03% and China’s Shanghai Composite is lower by 0.79%. European markets are lower today with shares in Germany off the most. The DAX is down 0.84% while London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.54% and France’s CAC 40 is lower by 0.22%.
Rupee was trading at Rs 65.37 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 55.19 at the time of writing.
In news from the economy, pointing that revival of infrastructure sector is in the primitive stages, credit rating agency, ICRA in its latest report has said that infrastructure companies with exposure to airport and highway sectors are doing well by showing improvement in their operational and financial performance. However, many infrastructure players are struggling with stressed balance sheet problem.
