US-North Korea tensions hit regional markets
The Sensex and Nifty fell for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, dragged down by financial and healthcare stocks, as escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula hit regional markets.
At 2.30 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 111.09 points or 0.35 per cent at 31,903.10 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 34.3 points or 0.34 per cent at 9,944.25.
Among BSE sectoral indices, healthcare index plunged 3.18 per cent, followed by auto 1.13 per cent, capital goods 0.69 per cent and infrastructure 0.61 per cent. On the other hand, realty index was up 0.56 per cent, IT 0.31 per cent, consumer durables 0.28 per cent and metal 0.21 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were NTPC (+1.63%), ONGC (+0.91%), Kotak Bank (+0.8%), Infosys (+0.74%) and Asian Paints (+0.64%), while the major losers were Sun Pharma (-3.92%), Cipla (-2.64%), Bajaj Auto (-2.5%), Tata Motors (-2.46%) and Dr Reddy's (-2.39%).
Asian shares and US stock futures slipped after Pyongyang said it is considering plans to attack Guam, just hours after US President Donald Trump told North Korea that any threat to the United States would be met with “fire and fury.”
Analysts said any fall in domestic equities could be limited. Shares have hit records highs this year on prospects of improving earnings and economic and fiscal reforms from the government.
“Global news flow is weighing heavy on the markets. I don't think there is more than 4-5 pct downside from the levels we've seen recently,” said Gaurang Shah, head investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services .
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' shares slumped as much as 5 per cent to their lowest in over four years after unit Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's June-quarter profit halved to $54.5 million.
The Nifty Pharma index fell as much as 2.2 per cent to its lowest in over two months. Nifty Bank index was trading 0.5 per cent lower, after falling nearly a percent in the last two sessions.
US stocks
US stocks had closed lower on Tuesday after a late afternoon selling spree as investors fled for safety after US President Donald Trump vowed to respond aggressively to any threats from North Korea.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 33.08 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 22,085.34, snapping a 9-day streak of closing records. The S&P 500 lost 5.99 points, or 0.24 per cent, to close at 2,474.92 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.31 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 6,370.46.