Sensex falls for 6th day in a row, posts worst weekly loss in 2 months

Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex today extended its losing streak for the sixth session in a row, slipping by 133.06 points and logging its worst week in two months due to poor bluechip earnings coupled with uncertainty in view of Delhi assembly polls. [caption id=“attachment_1999999” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption]Sustained foreign capital outflows and mixed global cues also affected trading sentiment, said stock market dealers. Shares of auto, healthcare, banking, power, oil & gas and consumer durable were among the major laggards of the day. The BSE Sensex resumed higher at 28,892.21 and firmed up further to a high of 28,922.85 on initial buying. However, it declined afterwards to 28,647.14 before concluding at 28,717.91, logging a net loss of 133.06 points or 0.46 percent, from Thursday’s close. On a weekly basis, the Sensex lost 465.04 points. This is its biggest weekly drop since the week ending December 12, 2014 when it had plunged by 1,107.42 points. “Tata Motors dropped post weak Q3 results and other auto stocks also showed weak trend. Cement stocks were also among major losers. Weak global cues and speculation ahead of Delhi assembly elections led to further fall on the bourses,” said Bonanza Portfolio, Associate Fund Manager, Hiren Dhakan. The CNX 50-share Nifty also fell by 50.65 points or 0.58 percent to below the 8,700-mark at 8,661.05. Asian stock markets ended mixed ahead of the closely-watched US jobs report. Key indices in Japan, Singapore and South Korea moved up by 0.14 percent to 0.82 percent while the indices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan finished lower by 0.35 percent to 1.93 percent. European stocks were trading lower after reports of disappointing German industrial production and as concerns mounted over Greece’s future in the euro zone. Key benchmark indices in Germany, France and the UK were off by 0.42 percent to 0.85 percent. Foreign Portfolio Investors sold Indian shares worth a net Rs 27.43 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. In six straight days, the BSE Sensex has dropped by 963.86 points or 3.25 percent. The stage is set for a battle royale in Delhi where polling will be held tomorrow for 70 seats in the Assembly elections billed as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a view rejected by the BJP leadership. The battle to win control over the national capital saw a resurgent Aam Aadmi Party giving a tough fight to the BJP which has staked its all on Modi’s image. In today’s session, 21 scrips out of the 30-share Sensex closed lower while nine others finished higher. Major losers include Tata Motors (5.05 percent), BHEL (4.79 percent), Sun Pharma (2.98 percent), Tata Steel (2.67 percent), M&M (2.59 percent), Hero Motocorp (2.37 percent), HDFC Bank (1.92 percent), Tata Power (1.74 percent), ICICI Bank (1.73 percent), Coal India (1.46 percent), ONGC (1.39 percent), RIL (1.29 percent) and Cipla (1.02 percent). However, HDFC rose by 2.45 percent, Infosys 1.63 per cent, Sesa Sterlite 1.35 percent, ITC 1.32 percent and Bharti Airtel 1.14 percent in the Sensex. Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, the Auto index fell by 2.77 percent, followed by Healthcare (1.72 percent), Bankex (1.27 percent), Power (1.25 percent), Oil & Gas (1.09 percent) and Consumer Durable (1.01 percent). However, IT and Teck indices rose by 0.89 percent and 0.74 percent respectively. Small-cap and Mid-cap indices dropped by 1.82 percent and 1.06 percent respectively due to persistent selling pressure from retail investors. As a result, the total market breadth remained negative as 2,015 stocks ended in red, 859 finished in green while 98 ruled steady. The total turnover dropped further to Rs 3,194.19 crore from Rs 3,698.95 crore yesterday. PTI