The Nifty ended below 5,700 for the first time since June 27, 2013 amid selling across sectors. This is the eight straight fall for the benchmark indices.
Today’s decline was led by realty, power, metals, capital goods, FMCG and banking stocks. Even midcap and small cap stocks were under pressure. Bucking the negative trend were consumer durables, IT and select telecom stocks.
The market saw relentless selling pressure despite positive cues from the US, Asia and the European markets. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 3.2%, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.2%, Singapore’s Straits Times added 0.4% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4%. European markets are trading flat.
The Sensex closed at 19,164, down 153 points, while the Nifty shut shop at 5,689, down 50 points over Thursday’s close.
The advance-decline ratio favoured the bears. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, 1,491 stocks declined against 775 advances, while 141 stocks remained unchanged.
Volatility, as measured by India VIX, surged 5.5% at 20.89. It hit a day’s high of 21.22 and a low of 19.
In earnings, Coal India will declare its Q1 FY14 results on Saturday. Amar Ambani, Head of Research at IIFL, sees Coal India posting a net sales of Rs. 188.38bn, a drop of 3% year-on-year. On the operating profit margin front, Ambani sees a 9.72% YoY rise at 29.2%. He forecasts a 22.8% YoY gain in net profit at Rs. 49.29bn.