Mumbai, Aug 16 (IANS) Negative global cues, along with profit booking and lower global crude oil prices, depressed the Indian equity markets on Tuesday.
Consequently, both the key equity indices closed in the red, as heavy selling pressure was witnessed in IT (information technology), automobile and technology, entertainment and media (TECK) stocks.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) slipped by 29.60 points or 0.34 per cent to 8,642.55 points.
The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 28,190.04 points, closed at 28,064.61 points -- down 87.79 points or 0.31 per cent from the previous close at 28,152.40 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 28,199.10 points and a low of 27,942.65 points during the intra-day trade.
The BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bears -- with 1,634 declines and 1,095 advances.
On Friday, the benchmark indices had closed with substantial gains on the back of positive global cues, coupled with higher crude oil prices and healthy inflow of foreign funds.
The barometer index had closed higher by 292.80 points or 1.05 per cent, while the NSE Nifty edged up by 80 points or 0.93 per cent.
Initially on Tuesday, the key indices opened on a lower note in sync with their Asian peers.
Besides, profit booking and lower global crude oil prices dampened sentiments.
Further, the downward trajectory got accelerated after a key macro-economic data which was released during the afternoon session revealed that India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices (Wholesale Price Index) has shot up.
Apart from WPI, the July retail inflation data also weighed heavy on investors' sentiments.
The key macro-economic data points, such as the factory output numbers -- Index of Industrial Production (IIP) -- for June and inflation figures for July were released after the market hours on Friday.
The two data points showed that India's annual retail inflation shot up beyond the official tolerance level of 6 per cent for July mainly on higher prices for food articles like pulses and vegetables, while on the brighter side the factory output rose by 2.1 per cent in June.
The Indian equity markets were closed on Monday to mark the Independence Day.
However, lower level value buying and rise in European indices due to positive German macro-economic data aided the equity markets to pare some their losses.
In addition, influx of foreign funds and a strengthened rupee arrested sharp falls in the equity markets.
The rupee strengthened by 12 paise to 66.77 against a US dollar from its previous close of 66.89 to a greenback.
"Profit booking and negative global markets dragged the Indian equity indices lower," Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS.
"As the earning season draws to a close, investors' attention has shifted towards the macros. The recently released CPI data which showed an upward trend has subdued sentiments, as the chances of rate cut has been reduced in the next monetary policy review."
Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls cited that bearish USD/INR futures prices supported the Nifty at lower levels.
"Bank Nifty traded volatile but recovered well from day's low mainly due to lower levels buying," Desai said.
"Most IT and pharma stocks traded down, while banking and auto stocks traded with mixed sentiments. FMCG stocks failed to recover due to some profit booking. Sugar stocks continued with bearish sentiments on lack of buying interest."
According to Nitasha Shankar, Senior Vice President for Research with YES Securities, Indian markets ended a volatile session marginally in the red after recovering from sharp intra-day slump.
"Broader markets ended trade marginally higher underperforming the headline indices," Shankar noted.
"Metal, pharma and banks outperformed. IT, auto and realty indices remained under pressure."
In terms of investments, the provisional data with exchanges showed that the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 684.73 crore, whereas the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) divested scrip worth Rs 108.98 crore.
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE IT index plunged by 143.30 points, the automobile index declined by 129.91 points, and the technology, entertainment and media (TECK) index fell by 78.19 points.
On the other hand, the S&P BSE metal index surged by 140.97 points, followed by the capital goods index, which gained by 121.82 points, and the oil and gas index rose by 96.51 points.
Major Sensex gainers during Tuesday's trade were: Cipla, up 7.14 per cent at Rs 553.55; Adani Ports, up 6.12 per cent at Rs 273.05; State Bank of India (SBI), up 1.34 per cent at Rs 246.45; Tata Steel, up 1.17 per cent at Rs 379.20; and Larsen and Toubro (L&T), up 1.15 per cent at Rs 1,505.45.
Major Sensex losers were: Sun Pharmaceuticals, down 2.35 per cent at Rs 782.92; Tata Motors, down 1.62 per cent at Rs 506.90; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), down 1.50 per cent at Rs 2,691.45; Wipro, down 1.38 per cent at Rs 536.25; and HDFC, down 1.36 per cent at Rs 1,359.80.
