After a tepid start, the key benchmark indices were seen holding marginal losses in late morning trade-off the low of the day as gains in select IT and FMCG shares helped offset losses in financials.
The BSE Sensex from an opening high of 60,786, had slipped to an intra-day low of 60,227. The index, however, was down around 200 points at 60,400-odd levels. The NSENifty was seen testing the 18,000-mark, down 50-odd points.
Among the Sensex 30 shares, the HDFC and Bajaj twins along with Reliance Industries were the major losers, down 1-2 percent each. On the positive front, Titan, NTPC, Dr.Reddy’s, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, TCS, Maruti, and Nestle India were the prominent gainers, up 1-2 percent each.
The broader markets, however, outperformed the benchmark indices by a large margin. The BSE Midcap index was up 0.8 percent, while the Smallcap.
index rallied 1.3 percent. The overall breadth too was fairly positive with nearly 2,300 stocks advancing, versus 913 declining stocks on the BSE so far.
Sectorally, the BSE Consumer Durables, Power, Telecom and Auto indices were the strong gainers; whereas Bankex was the notable loserAmong other individual stocks, SBI Cards shed 4 percent on the BSE. As per reports, private equity firm Carlyle Group will sell its entire stake in the company for as much as Rs 2,558 crore
Moreover, Zomato, too, dropped 5 percent after the Competition Commission on Monday ordered a detailed probe against Zomato and Swiggy, for alleged unfair business practices with respect to their dealings with restaurant partners.
