At the close of market hours, the Sensex closed down 60.73 points or 0.17% at 34950.92, while the Nifty was down 29.00 points or 0.27% at 10524.00.
It’s a negative start to the week for the market, with the Nifty managing to hold 10,500-mark. Tepid global cues along with a weak rupee weighed on the indices.
Having said that, there was a recovery in the last hour of trade, especially in the Bank Nifty, after State Bank of India reported good set of numbers for the September quarter.
The day began on a negative note amid weak global cues. Asian markets were under pressure on the back as investors sensed worries around global growth. There was some pressure on the Indian currency as well and fell below 73 per US dollar again.
Benchmarks kept swinging between negative zone and flat terrain. However, there was some buying in the last hour, which helped indices end off lows.
At the close of market hours, the Sensex closed down 60.73 points or 0.17% at 34950.92, while the Nifty was down 29.00 points or 0.27% at 10524.00. The market breadth was narrow as 1,327 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,294 shares, while 150 shares were unchanged.
Among sectors, automobiles, consumption, infrastructure, and pharmaceuticals were the top losers, while IT and PSU banks were the big gainers. The Nifty Midcap index ended over one-third of a percent lower.
State Bank of India and Axis Bank were the top gainers, while IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Cipla and IOC lost the most.
Stocks in News
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) fell 2 percent after surging 4 percent after it reported strong numbers for the quarter ended September 2018.
Share price of Strides Pharma Science added 2 percent on successful completion of USFDA inspection of Bangalore unit.
Share price of Sun TV Network shed 7 percent despite company reporting better numbers for the quarter ended September 2018.
Axis Bank soared over 2 percent as investors bet on the positive results for September quarter.
Shares of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), particularly in the housing finance (HFCs) segment, were under pressure as government is said to have raised concerns.
PNB Housing Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance and DHFL along with Repco Home Finance and HDFC are all down 1-5 percent.
Cipla, on Monday, reported a fall of 11 percent (year-on-year) in its net profit for the September quarter at Rs 377 crore. The company had reported a profit of Rs 422.9 during the same period of last year. The stock ended 7 percent lower.
Bosch’s shares ended a percent lower even after it reported a surge of 19 percent (year on year) in its net profit for September quarter at Rs 420 crore against Rs 353 crore.
Jet Airways soared 9 percent based on a media report that Tata Group and the airline have initiated second round of discussions on a possible deal.
State Bank of India reported a net profit of Rs 944.9 crore for the September quarter against a net loss of Rs 4,875.85 crore during the previous quarter.
The public sector lender reported a profit of Rs 1,581.55 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year. On a year-on-year basis, the bank has reported a fall of 40 percent. The stock ended over 3 percent higher.
Global Markets
European stocks were mixed as investors monitored several geo-political events. The Stoxx 600 was flat.
Meanwhile, Asia Pacific markets traded lower on Monday as investors remained cautious over global growth.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 344.67 points, or 1.55 percent, to 21,898.99 while the Topix index declined 18.37 points, or 1.11 percent, to 1,640.39. South Korea's Kospi was down 19.08 points, or 0.91 percent, at 2,076.92.
