Sensex logs biggest loss since Oct 8 on US fiscal woes

The Indian equity benchmarks dropped more than one percent on Friday, biggest absolute losses since October 8, on the back of uncertainty over US fiscal cliff deal last night. Profit booking could be another reason behind today's fall as the Sensex gained more than 1,000 points in the last one month.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 211.92 points to close at 19,242, weighed down by selling across sectors. Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 68.70 points to end below 5,850 level at 5,847.7.

Experts feel that there may be a little bit of correction in the market because of significant rally seen recently, but ruled out major correction.

Dhirendra Tiwari of Antique Institutional Equities feels expectation of policy rate cuts, some push by the government on the infrastructure and political stability would support the market.

The Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures were down 1.4 percent each today, after a Republican proposal to deal with a US fiscal crunch failed to get enough support, deepening uncertainty over the US "fiscal cliff".

The US House speaker John Boehner abruptly cancelled a vote on a plan to raise taxes for the wealthy yesterday night. The development raised questions about whether Boehner could muster support for a broader deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

Among the Asian markets, Shanghai and Hang Seng were down 0.7 percent each, while Nikkei, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted went down 1 percent. European markets extended losses after initial flat trade; FTSE, DAX and CAC moved down 0.7-1 percent.

Back home, the Indian rupee too saw downward journey, falling below the 55 level at 55.22 per US dollar, down by 37 paise compared to previous day's closing value.

The downtrend was seen not only in benchmarks, but also in broader markets. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down nearly 1.5 percent.

Realty stocks hit quite badly with the BSE Realty Index falling 3.5 percent while Metal, Healthcare, Capital Goods, Power, Oil & Gas, Auto and Bankex were down 1.35-1.8 percent.

Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel crashed 3 percent as CBI filed chargesheet on Bharti and Vodafone in excess spectrum case.

Metals stocks too lost shine; Sterlite Industries and Jindal Steel plunged 3-3.5 percent. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and country's largest lender State Bank of India were down 2 percent each.

However, cigarette major ITC bounced back quite sharply in late trade, closing flat with positive bias after losing as much as 2 percent intraday. Software services exporter TCS rose 0.8 percent.

For the week, the Nifty lost 0.5 percent while the Sensex shed 0.4 percent.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 1935 to 915 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The NSE benchmark fell 1 percent in the afternoon trade as Asian markets continued to reel under pressure on uncertainty over fiscal cliff deal. Yesterday night the US House speaker John Boehner abruptly cancelled a vote on a plan to raise taxes for the wealthy. The development raised questions about whether Boehner could muster support for a broader deal to avert the fiscal cliff. Shanghai, Hang Seng and Nikkei slipped 0.7-1 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 165.49 points to 19,288.43, while the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 57 points to 5,859.60. The rupee too stayed below the 55 level, down 31 paise to 55.16 against the US dollar.

Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel plunged 3 percent on source-based reports that suggest that CBI is going to file chargesheet in excess spectrum case today including Bharti Cellular (now Bharti Airtel).

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and aluminium major Hindalco Industries were down 2 percent each. Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC fell 1.2 percent each.

Shares of HDFC Bank, ITC, HDFC, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro and ICICI Bank went down 0.4-0.9 percent.

However, software services exporter TCS and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever gained 0.7 percent.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 1031 to 345 on the National Stock Exchange.

The Sensex continued to trade lower with more than 100-point loss, while the Nifty remained below the 5,900 level. The market is weighed down by banking & financials, oil & gas, capital goods and auto stocks.

The 30-share BSE benchmark was down 116.55 points to 19,337.37 and the 50-share NSE benchmark declined 42 points to 5,874.50.

Private oil & gas producer Cairn India was the top loser, down nearly 3 percent after sources indicated that the company is likely to revise its production guidance downwards in January. The timeline for a ramp-up to 240 kbpd remains unclear due to Bhagyam reservoir issues, say sources.

Cigarette major ITC, commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors, state-controlled oil & gas producer ONGC, coal mining company Coal India and telecom operator Bharti Airtel were down nearly 1.5 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC and private sector lender HDFC Bank fell 1 percent while country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank declined 0.2 percent.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries slipped 0.5 percent each.

Meanwhile, technology majors TCS and Infosys gained 0.5 percent as the Indian rupee fell below the 55 level, which was down 31 paise to 55.16 a US dollar.

Metals stocks bounced back after the initial fall; Tata Steel moved up 1 percent and Sterlite Industries rose 0.6 percent.

On the global front, Asian markets too were under pressure on uncertainty over fiscal cliff deal; Shanghai, Nikkei and Hang Seng were down 0.5-0.9 percent.

The Dow Jones futures dropped 1.4 percent, reacting to news of US House speaker John Boehner abruptly cancelling a vote on Thursday night on a plan to raise taxes for the wealthy. The House then recessed until after Christmas. The development raised questions about whether Boehner could muster support for a broader deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

Indian key benchmarks fell in early trade on Friday following downtrend in Asian markets as uncertainty increased over US fiscal cliff. The Indian rupee too weakened, losing 30 paise to fall below 55 against the US dollar at 55.15.

The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 122 points to 19,332.10, while the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 42.2 points to 5,874.20.

Asian shares slid after a Republican proposal to fend off a US fiscal crunch failed to get enough support, deepening uncertainty over prospects for the negotiations to avert automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to start in January. Major markets like Shanghai, Hang Seng and Nikkei were down 0.6 percent while Kospi and Taiwan went down over 1 percent.

Back home, country's largest lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were down 0.4-0.9 percent, while housing finance company HDFC declined 0.54 percent.

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and software services exporter TCS declined 0.7 percent each.

Cigarette major ITC, commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors, top telecom operator Bharti Airtel and state-controlled oil & gas producer ONGC moved down over 1 percent.

Metals stocks, which rallied quite smartly yesterday, lost ground. Hindalco, Sterlite, Jindal Steel and Tata Steel were down around 1 percent.

Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto and Sun Pharma outperformed, rising marginally.

 The CNX Midcap Index declined 0.5 percent to 8,429 as advance:decline ratio was completely in favour of declines.

In the second line shares, Adani Enterprises rallied 4 percent. Company's offer for sale opened today. Floor price has been set at Rs 282/share while promoters will sell 2.3 crore shares (2.1 percent equity) via OFS.

Kingfisher Airlines gained 2 percent as source based reports suggest that Etihad executives met company's officials but talks are still inconclusive.

High Beta stocks: Voltas, IRB Infra, HDIL, DB Realty, Kolte Patil, Unitech, Punj Lloyd and IVRCL were down over 1.5 percent.

IFCI fell 2.4 percent. The company has allotted 52.3 crore shares to government at Rs 10 upon conversion of Rs 523 crore OCD's held by GOI.