Markets end in red for sixth day as FPIs look the other way

Stocks today cut a sorry figure for

the sixth straight day on growing risk aversion as benchmarks

found it a tough ask to get over the pessimism set off by

foreign institutional selling and the Korean impasse.

Investors rushed back to the refuge of safe havens, with

the Sensex ending at a fresh one-month low of 31,599.76 --

down 26.87 points, or 0.08 per cent.

The barometer had lost 797.13 points for the past five

sessions on the trot due to unimpressive global cues and

relentless foreign capital outflows.

The 50-share NSE Nifty settled a shade lower by 1.10

points, or 0.01 per cent, at 9,871.50. During the session, it

moved between 9,891.35 and 9,813. The closing was also its

lowest in four weeks.

"Market recovered from intra-day losses and settled flat

as investors found some long-term opportunities in beaten-down

stocks. However, tepid movement in the global market, losing

sheen on currency and volatility ahead of derivative expiry

casts interim cloud over the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of

Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.

Foreign portfolio investors stayed away from Indian

stocks as they net sold shares worth Rs 1,249.45 crore. But

domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought equities

worth Rs 1,009.98 crore yesterday, according to provisional

data from the exchanges.

The Korean tension showed no signs of easing as North

Korea's foreign minister said US President Donald

Trump had declared war on the country and it reserves the

right to take countermeasures, including shooting down US

bombers even if they are not in its airspace.

Concerns over stretched valuations of several blue-chip

as well as mid-cap stocks accelerated selling, traders said.

But this was offset by bargain hunting, which kept losses to a

minimum.

The rupee sliding to a fresh 6-month low of 65.45 against

the dollar and crude prices heating up globally after Turkish

threats to block Kurdish oil exports hit investor sentiment.

Brent oil hit a two-year high of USD 59.33 per barrel in

the international market.

Selling by retail investors in the secondary market to

raise funds to invest in the primary market by subscribing

IPOs of several companies, also fuelled downward trend.

Market participants were also disappointed after the

Asian Development Bank downgraded India's growth projection to

7 per cent for the current fiscal while lowering its forecast

for the next financial year as well.

But not all seems to have been gloomy as Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has formed an Economic Advisory Council (EAC) as

part of the government's efforts to put life back into the

economy, which of late has slowed.

The heavy losers were Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints,

Dr Reddy's, TCS and M&M, down by up to 2.31 per cent.

State-owned ONGC was a big hitter climbing 4.32 per cent

to Rs 171.55 after the company said it will acquire the

government's 51.11 per cent stake in HPCL through a bulk or

block deal some time in November or December at the prevailing

market price.

Sector-wise, the BSE FMCG index declined the most, losing

0.37 per cent, followed by technology.

Broader markets left the benchmarks behind, with the

small-cap index rising 1.08 per cent and mid-cap 0.44 per

cent.

 

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)