Sensex drops over 100 points on profit-booking, weak global cues; Tata Steel, M&M, Yes Bank stocks fall

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 100 points on Tuesday after a five-session winning spree as investors cashed profits in IT, metal, banking, consumer durables, power and auto shares amid sustained foreign fund outflows. Cues from other Asian markets were weak too. The BSE 30-share barometer dropped 134.05 points, or 0.37 percent, to 36,444.91 in early trade as index major Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki declined. The gauge had rallied over 725 points in the previous five sessions. The NSE Nifty index too slipped by 45.90 points, or 0.42 percent, to 10,915.95. [caption id=“attachment_5263731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image. Reuters[/caption] Brokers said investors turned cautious and preferred to log profits in recent gainers, dragging down key indices. Besides, a weak trend at most of other Asian markets on concerns about the global economic outlook, after the International Monetary fund (IMF) slashed its world economic forecast Monday, weighed on the sentiments here, they added. The IMF lowered its global growth projections for 2019 and 2020 to 3.5 percent and 3.6 percent respectively, citing slowdown in several advanced economies around the world more rapidly than previously anticipated. The laggards were Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Vedanta, M&M, Yes Bank, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, RIL, Axis Bank, Infosys, HCL Tech, HDFC, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, Asian Paint, HUL and SBI, falling up to 1.70 percent. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued their selling activity on domestic bourses here. They sold shares worth a net Rs 29.79 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 520.80 crore Monday, provisional data showed. Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.73 percent, Korea’s Kospi was down 0.65 percent and Taiwan’s index shed 0.21 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.88 percent and Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.06 percent. The rupee edged 5 paise higher to 71.23 against the US dollar in early session at the interbank forex market Tuesday on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.     To keep watching India’s No. 1 English Business News Channel – CNBC-TV18, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family Pack (inclusive of 24 channels), available for Rs. 35/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 4/- per day. To keep watching the Leader in Global Market & Business News – CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family HD Pack (inclusive of 25 channels), available for Rs. 50/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 1/- per day.