Sensex, Nifty trade lower on weak global cues, IndiGo shares sink 13%

Key Indian equity market indices were trading lower in early trade on Thursday, following weakness in Asian stocks.

The BSE Sensex was trading 61.88 points or 0.18% lower at 35,114.54, while the wider NSE Nifty too was down 0.30% or 32.40 points to 10,685.65 -32.40 at 10 am.

Shares of InterGlobe Aviation, parent company of no-frills carrier IndiGo, fell 13.99% to Rs 1,156.25 in early morning trade, following the announcement of a 73% slump in the company’s Q4 profit on Wednesday.

After starting on a positive note, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 80 points on weak Asian cues as tariff woes between the US and China returned, ahead of trade talks between the two countries.

The laggards were Wipro, HUL, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy’s, Yes Bank, L&T, Coal India, HDFC Bank, M&M, Power Grid, RIL and Tata Steel, falling up to 1.43%.

Top gainers included Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Yes Bank, SBI and ONGC, rising up to 2%.

Brokers said, market participants booked profits tracking a weak trend in other Asian bourses, following overnight losses on the Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.5% to 1.75%.

Investors were also keeping an eye on high-level talks between China and the United States on trade in Beijing today, they added.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 525.93 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares to the tune of Rs 165.84 crore in yesterday’s trade, provisional data showed.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.75%, while Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.51% in early trade. Financial markets in Japan are closed for a four-day holiday weekend.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.72% lower in Wednesday’s trade.