Market registered strong losses in the last trading session of the week amid geopolitical tensions. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex lost 447.60 points or 1.38% to settle at 31,922.44. The Nifty 50 index fell 157.50 points or 1.56% to settle at 9,964.40. The Sensex settled below the 32,000 mark while the Nifty skidded below the crucial 10,000 level. Bank stocks declined. Metal and mining stocks slumped amid fall in global metal prices after S&P Global Ratings cut China's sovereign credit rating for the first time since 1999, citing the risks from soaring debt, and revised its outlook to stable from negative. Market sentiment took a hit after North Korea's threat that it could consider testing a nuclear weapon in the Pacific. North Korea's foreign minister reportedly warned yesterday, 21 September 2017 that Pyongyang could test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean in response to US President Donald Trump's threats of military action. The Sensex lost 447.60 points or 1.38% to settle at 31,922.44, its lowest closing level since 11 September 2017. The index tumbled 483.95 points or 1.49% at the day's low of 31,886.09. It fell 27.23 points or 0.08% at the day's high of 32,342.81. The Nifty fell 157.50 points or 1.56% to settle at 9,964.40, its lowest closing level since 8 September 2017. The index slumped 169.10 points or 1.67% at the day's low of 9,952.80. It fell 26.85 points or 0.26% at the day's high of 10,095.05. Among other indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.71%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 2.93%. The losses in both the indices were higher than the Sensex's slide in percentage terms. Broad market depicted weakness. There were four losers for every gainer on BSE. 2,096 shares declined and 519 shares advanced. A total of 146 shares were unchanged. The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3925.21 crore, lower than turnover of Rs 4221.54 crore registered during the previous trading session. All the nineteen sectoral indices on the BSE finished the session in red. The S&P BSE Healthcare index (down 2.05%), the BSE Bankex index (down 1.89%), the BSE Capital Goods index (down 3.29%), the BSE Metal index (down 3.99%) and the BSE Realty index (down 4.29%) underperformed the Sensex. The BSE FMCG index (down 1.06%), the BSE IT index (down 0.7%) and the BSE Auto index (down 1.18%) outperformed the Sensex. Bank stocks declined. Among public sector banks, Bank of India (down 3.87%), IDBI Bank (down 3.74%), Bank of Baroda (down 2.54%) and State Bank of India (down 2.46%) edged lower. Punjab National Bank fell 2.92% at Rs 137.80. The bank said that its board will meet on 27 September 2017 for considering raising common equity tier capital upto Rs 5000 crore as per Basel III requirements. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 22 September 2017. Indian Bank lost 3.49% at Rs 271.35. The bank announced that the board of directors approved issuance of 7-year long term bonds amounting to Rs 2000 crore in tranches out of the Rs 5000 crore. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 September 2017. Among private sector banks, Yes Bank (down 4.31%), ICICI Bank (down 2.77%), Axis Bank (down 1.61%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.15%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.93%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.83%) declined. Metal and mining stocks slumped amid fall in global metal prices after S&P Global Ratings cut China's sovereign credit rating for the first time since 1999, citing the risks from soaring debt, and revised its outlook to stable from negative. National Aluminium Company (down 7.25%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 8.17%), NMDC (down 5.01%), Steel Authority of India (down 5.16%), Tata Steel (down 4.7%), Hindalco Industries (down 5.22%), Vedanta (down 4.49%), Hindustan Zinc (down 3.72%), Hindustan Copper (down 2.81%) and JSW Steel (down 2.97%) declined. China is the world's largest consumer of steel, copper and aluminum. Infosys fell 1.26% at Rs 898.05. Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys announced a partnership with ToneTag, a provider of near-field communications, payments and location based services using sound waves. The announcement was made during market hours today, 22 September 2017. InterGlobe Aviation fell 2.14% at Rs 1,111.55. The company announced that a committee of the Board of Directors approved allotment of 3.35 crore equity shares to qualified institutional buyers at an issue price of Rs 1,130 per share. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 September 2017. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its weekly weather report said that for the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon upto 20 September has been 5% below the normal rainfall. The June-September southwest monsoon is critical for the country's agriculture because a considerable part of the country's farmland is dependent on the rains for irrigation. Overseas, European stocks were mixed and most Asian stocks edged lower after North Korea's threat that it could consider testing a nuclear weapon in the Pacific. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said yesterday, 21 September 2017 that monetary policy is not the right instrument to address financial imbalances in the euro zone and macroprudential tools must be used to tackle local issues. US stocks declined yesterday, 21 September 2017 as profit booking emerged after recent winning streak. In the economic news, the US initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000 for the week ended 16 September, the Labor Department said yesterday, 21 September 2017. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |