Sensex loses 147 points on political upheaval, global cues

Indian equity benchmarks as well as broader markets caught in bear grip Thursday, weighed down by weak global cues and political uncertainty. Profit booking and unwinding of long positions too dented sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex shed gains for the second consecutive session after rising consistently for 1200 points in previous nine sessions. The index declined 146.76 points to close at 18,349.25.

Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 45.80 points to 5,554.25 due to weakness in banks, capital goods, metals stocks and Reliance Industries.

The market has been more worried over political instability since the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee's decision to withdraw support from UPA government. TMC has been opposing for FDI approval in retail sector and hike in diesel price while the government has ruled out the same.

Though the impact of political turmoil on market has been so far restricted, analysts feel it can be devastating.

Sanjay Sinha, founder of Citrus Advisors is worried that if the government rolls back reforms or there is an election before 2014, it will sink the Sensex to 16,600.

However, at the same time he feels that the government has prepared the market for some more hard measures to take the economy forward. "I think if that happens, the market is surely going to cheer and will rally upwards from even where we are today."

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE fell 0.6-0.8% on weak economic data. France's manufacturing flash purchasing managers' index declined to 42.6 in September as against 46 in previous month and even services flash PMI dropped to 46.1 versus 49.2 MoM. China's preliminary manufacturing PMI came in at 47.8 in September versus 47.6 MoM.

Back home, index heavyweight Reliance Industries lost 2.7%. Kotak Institutional Equities downgraded the stock to sell from reduce, saying the recent run-up in shares is not justified by fundamentals and citing concerns about refining margins. (With inputs from Reuters)

Housing finance company HDFC was down 1.9%. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were down 1.4% and 2.5%, respectively.

Among metals and mining stocks, Coal India, Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries tanked 3%.

State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL lost 3.6% while engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro slipped 2%.

Gas transportation services provider GAIL fell 3.3% on fears that the government may roll back cap on LPG. On September 12, the government has put a cap on use of subsidised LPG to 6 cylinders per family in a year.

Top software services exporter TCS rallied 1.6% while its rivals Infosys and Wipro were up over 0.6%.

Cigarette major ITC and state-run oil & gas producer gained over 0.8%. Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto was up 2.3%.

In the second line shares, Kingfisher, GVK Power, Lanco Infratech, HCC, GMR Infrastructure, Suzlon and IFCI were down 3.5-7%.

Pantaloon Retail and S Kumars fell 3-5% on concerns over FDI approval.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 1601 to 1153 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Indian shares remained under pressure due to weakness in heavyweights like Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. L&T, SBI and HDFC also weighed down the market. However, defensives like Infosys, TCS and ITC were supporting the market.

The BSE benchmark plummeted 103 points to 18,393.02 and the NSE benchmark was down 34 points to 5,566.20.

Amit Gupta, Head- Derivatives at ICICI Direct said, in the last one year, Nifty has not been able to sustain above the 5400 mark for more than a week. However, this time it has already managed to stay above this mark and therefore, he believes it will be a very crucial week to watch out for.

Country's largest software services exporter TCS and two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto gained 2-2.5%.

Cigarette major ITC, telecom operator Bharti Airtel and state-run oil & gas producer ONGC rallied 1-1.5%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries, country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro dropped over 2%.

Shares of state-owned BHEL, Coal India and GAIL tanked 3-3.5%. Housing finance company HDFC and top lender State Bank of India were down 1-1.5%.

About 518 shares advanced as against 914 shares declined on the National Stock Exchange.

Indian shares were trading lower for the second consecutive session today on the back of profit booking after 1200 points rally on the 30-share BSE Sensex in previous nine sessions. The index went down 128 points to 18,367.90, weighed down by Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, SBI and L&T.

Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 42.3 points to 5,557.75. Even the Indian rupee depreciated 35 paise to 54.36 against the US dollar.

Oil retailers BPCL and HPCL gained 2-3% as crude dropped over 7% in last three trading sessions. WTI crude declined from a high of USD 99.5 a barrel on Monday to USD 91.8 a barrel today.

Technology stocks were on buyers' radar today; Infosys was up 1.3% and TCS gained 1.8% while their rival Wipro rose 0.65%. HCL Technologies trimmed gains; the company has received multi-million dollars deal from US based Freescale Semiconductors for five years.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki rallied over 1%. Cigarette major ITC and state-run oil & gas producer ONGC were up 0.75% each.

Shares of Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC were down 2% each. Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel dropped nearly 3%.

State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL tanked 3.67% and gas transportation services provider GAIL plunged over 4%. Sterlite Industries and Coal India lost 3% each.

The broader markets were down more than 0.6% as about two shares declined for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

Indian equity benchmarks, which were showing signs of recovery in morning trade, extended losses again on weakness in European markets. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE fell 1% on weak economic data from France.

Peripheral markets like Spain and Italy too were down nearly 1%. France's manufacturing flash purchasing managers' index declined to 42.6 in September as against 46 in previous month and even services flash PMI dropped to 46.1 versus 49.2 MoM.

The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 131 points to 18,365.35 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 43.45 points to 5,556.60. The Indian rupee slipped by 37 paise to 54.38 against the US dollar.

State-run power equipment maker BHEL and gas transportation services provider GAIL tanked over 3%. Housing finance company HDFC tumbled 2.65%.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank lost 1.7% while its rivals State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were down 0.5% each.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and index heavyweight Reliance Industries moved down 2% and 1.5%, respectively.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel, commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and software services exporter TCS gained 1% each.

India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki was up 1.6%.

In the second line shares, Glodyne Tech, S Mobility, Berger Paints, ALSTOM India and Andhra Bank rallied 3-4% while Tulip Telecom, TTK Prestige, Shree Global, Bombay Dyeing and Edelweiss Financial fell 4-5%.

The 50-share NSE Nifty managed to hold the 5550 level amid selling pressure today, supported by TCS, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel. The weakness in steel, capital goods, banks stocks and Reliance Industries has limited the recovery.

The BSE benchmark was down 86 points to 18,410.18 and the NSE benchmark fell 28 points to 5,572.05.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki gained 1.3-1.5%.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC were up 1.14% and 0.8%, respectively.

Software services exporters TCS and Wipro climbed 1-1.5% while their rival Infosys was down 0.3%.

Among metals and mining stocks, Jindal Steel rallied 2.5% while Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries and Coal India were down 1-1.5%.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro fell 1.5% each. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down 1%.

Housing finance company HDFC, state-run power equipment manufacturer BHEL and gas transportation services provider GAIL lost over 2.5%.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 866 to 412 on the National Stock Exchange.

Indian shares trimmed losses after initial knee-jerk reaction to political uncertainty. Metals, banks and capital goods stocks, which saw huge buying interest in previous sessions, were under pressure. But the upmove in technology (barring Infosys) and FMCG stocks were quite supportive.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 100.10 points to 18,395.91 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 36.25 points to 5,563.80. The broader markets too were under pressure; the BSE Midcap Index was down 0.8% and Smallcap lost 0.7%.

The recovery of more than half of losses indicated that the united progressive alliance (UPA) government may not have any problem after the Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee's decision to withdraw support.

Independent analyst Ambareesh Baliga feels it will not be a big roadblock as such. "I suppose there will be enough supporters in the political arena, whether it's SP or BSP for their pound of flesh, looking at the scenario. I really don't see there is a major problem for the government. There will be uncertainty for the next one or two days. But post that, I think things will clear out. After this kneejerk reaction, we should again be back on track," he says.

He doesn't see the Nifty going much below 5,500-5,520.

Housing finance company HDFC and state-owned gas transportation services provider GAIL were down 2% each.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank fell 1% each. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down 1% too.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL dropped 2-3%. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel gained 1.5%.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and top car maker Maruti Suzuki rose around 1%. Country's largest software services exporter TCS rallied nearly 2% while its rival Wipro was up 1.2%.

FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever moved up 0.5-1%. State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC advanced 0.6%.

The India rupee too declined 29 paise to 54.30 against the US dollar.

The 30-share BSE Sensex started off Thursday trade with 200 points gap down following political uncertainty. The Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has decided on Tuesday evening to withdraw support from united progressive alliance (UPA) government after the government said they would not roll back FDI approval in retail sector and hike of Rs 5 per litre in diesel price.

But the market managed to pare losses immediately on hopes that the government may get support from Samajwadi party and Bahujan Samaj party to stay in power. Political analysts feel there may not be any mid-term polls as the government may solve the current problems.

The BSE benchmark fell 109.27 points to 18,386.74 and the NSE benchmark declined 35 points to 5,564.95. The Indian rupee too depreciated by 36 paise to 54.37 against the US dollar.

Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com feels the market would be choppy today. He advised traders to keep a stoploss at 5450, but the overall trend remains up, he says.

Axis Bank, State Bank of India, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Reliance Infrastructure, BHEL, Tata Steel, Tata Power, Tata Motors, Sesa Goa, Sterlite Industries, Reliance Industries, L&T and, HDFC and IDFC were down 1-2.5%.

Defensives like ITC, HUL, TCS and Asian Paints were trading higher in early trade.

HCL Tech surged 2% as the company has received multi-million dollar deal from US based Freescale Semiconductors for five years.

The CNX Midcap Index rallied 77 points or 1% to 7,486 as about three shares declined for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Pantaloon Retail lost 7% on concerns over FDI approval in retail sector.

Kingfisher Airlines was down 6%. Lanco Infratech, GVK Power, GMR Infra and IRB Infrastructure were down 3-4%.

Suzlon Energy slipped 2% as the company is seeking 4-month extension for repayment of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) due in October.

Unitech and Alok Industries went down 1-2%. S Kumars tanked 5%.

Shree Renuja Suguars and Bajaj Hindusthan gained 2%.

EID Parry was up 1% as the company will hold shareholders' meet on October 11 on demerger plan.

Jet Airways gained 2% on stake sale buzz.