Sensex down 61 points in opening trade on heavy selling in metals, realty, energy, auto stocks; Rupee falls to fresh 16-month low

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex slipped almost 61 points in opening trade today on heavy selling in metals, realty energy and auto stocks amid sustained capital outflows by foreign funds. Asian shares drifted lower after US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with bilateral trade talks with China that occurred last week. Meanwhile, China announced on Tuesday that it would reduce tariffs on some vehicles to 15 per cent from as much as 25 per cent. Tariffs on certain automotive parts would also be cut. The rupee deprecating against the dollar also dampened sentiment.

The 30-share index dropped 60.79 points or 0.17 percent to 34,590.45. The gauge had gained 35.11 points in the previous session. In similar fashion, the NSE Nifty fell 19.80 points, or 0.18 per cent to 10,516.90.

Sectoral indices led by metal, realty, oil and gas and auto were trading in the negative zone, falling up to 1.29 percent. Major losers were Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Hero Motocorp, M&M, HDFC Ltd, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, Wipro, ONGC and RIL, falling up to 2.45 percent. [caption id=“attachment_4357439” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  BSE.
Represenational image. Reuters[/caption] Brokers said sentiment remained weak in the absence of any positive trigger amid sustained capital outflows. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,651.63 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,496.83 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. In the Asian region, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.08 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.08 percent in early trade. China’s Shanghai Composite index too was down 0.89 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.72 percent lower in yesterday’s trade as uncertainty over trade policy and other geopolitical issues weighed on sentiment. Rupee falls  The rupee declined 25 paise to hit a fresh 16-month low of 68.29 per dollar in early trade today ahead of the minutes of US Federal Reserve’s last policy meet scheduled to be released later in the day. The greenback strengthened against most global currencies as investors await hints on the pace of further US monetary tightening amid sustained capital outflows, forex dealers said. Weakness in the domestic stock market and demand for the US currency from importers also weighed on the rupee, they added. Yesterday, the rupee had gained 8 paise to close at 68.04 against the US dollar on fresh selling of the American currency by banks and exporters.