Sensex takes a U-turn, falls 350 pts from day's high to end 134 pts down; HDFC twins top drags

NEW DELHI: Selling pressure on Friday intensified in the afternoon trade as worries over economic slump and weak global cues gave enough ammunition to the bears to pull benchmark indices down for the second day.

The weekly jobless claims report from the US Labor Department showed nearly 30 million people were on unemployment benefits at the end of August, disappointing investors who were expecting some improvement.

The 30-share pack Sensex dropped over 350 points from its day’s high to close down 134 points or 0.34 per cent at 38,846, led by losses financials, FCMG major HUL and IT gaint Infosys. Its broader peers showed similar moves before ending the day at 11,504.95, down 11.15 points or 0.10 per cent

"Indian benchmark indices, after trading in the green for most of the day, succumbed to a round of selling in the last hour of trading, to close out the day flat, with a slight negative bias. Global cues were mostly mixed after the US Fed reserve failed to come out with an immediate stimulus measure and also due to resurgence in virus infections in some countries,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market at a glance:

• Dr Reddy’s Labs continues its superior show, spikes 10%
• Happiest Minds sees profit booking on 2nd day, down nearly 4%
• Nifty Pharma outshines others, index surges nearly 5%
• Broader markets see selling pressure, Nifty Smallcap down for 3rd day
• 164 stocks hit 52-week highs: Birlasoft, Cipla, HCL Tech, DRL, Divi’s Labs, Cadila, Escorts, Biocon and Intellect Design among top names

Due to lack of any fresh triggers for the market, the current uncertainty is expected to continue, according to analysts. But any news with regards to the border tensions with China, or global events can impact the markets on the downside.

Among bluechip stocks, Dr Reddy’s Labs was the top gainer for the third straight day, up 9.92 per cent at Rs 5,306. Cipla, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Grasim Industries and Tech Mahindra were among other major gainers, up 2-7 per cent.

On the other hand, HDFC Bank, Shree Cements, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti Suzuki and Titan Company were among the top losers among Nifty stocks, down in the range of 1-3 per cent.

Broader markets were also under pressure as Nifty Midcap fell for the second time in as many days, down 0.07 per cent and Nifty Smalcap registered a fall for the third consecutive session, down 0.44 per cent.

Oberoi Realty, Ajanta Pharma, Gujarat Gas, Aster DM Healthcare, Laurus Labs and Delta Corps were among the top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, rising in the range of 4-7 per cent.

Among the major losers from the broader market universe were Aegis Chemicals, Timken, Dilip Builcon, Edelweiss Financial Services, HUDCO and Emami that slipped in the range of 4-6 per cent on Friday.
Nifty Pharma was the biggest sectoral gainer, surging 4.98 per cent. It was followed by nearly 2 per cent gains in Nifty Realty. Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Service were the two major losers, down over a per cent each.

Market breadth was in favour of the losers with 1,307 stocks ending in the green while 1,433 names closed with cuts. As many as 164 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the mid and smallcap space. Meanwhile, 56 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 290 stocks hit upper circuit limit and 228 lower circuit limit.

European markets were trading mixed, with UK’s FTSE and France’s CAC dropping 0.19 per cent and 0.22 per cent, respectively. Germany’s DAX was up 0.32 per cent. Barring Singapore’s Straits Times that was down 0.12 per cent, all Asian markets closed with gains. China’s Shanghai Composite rose the most at 2.07 per cent.

Let’s prepare for Monday:

• Two IPOs: CAMS and Chemcon Speciality Chemicals will open for subscription on Monday.

• FX reserves: RBI will release its forex reserve data for the week ending Sept 11 later in the day, which will be tracked by traders active in currency markets.

• Tensions at LAC: Over the weekend, investors will keep track of the ongoing conflict on Chinese border as any adverse development may hurd the market.