Fresh selling in index pivotals derailed a brief intraday pullback on the bourses to once again sink in negative zone in mid-morning trade. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 126.80 points or 0.35% at 35,764.72. The Nifty 50 index was down 49.65 points or 0.46% at 10,742.85. Most Asian stocks fell.
Intraday volatility was high. Indices cut early losses to regain positive zone in morning trade. Key benchmark indices edged lower in early trade after provisional data showed that domestic and foreign funds, both, were net sellers of Indian equities yesterday, 2 January 2019. The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 621.06 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 226.18 crore.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.23%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.03%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On the BSE, 951 shares rose and 1137 shares fell. A total of 142 shares were unchanged.
Back home, ONGC (down 2.78%), Tata Steel (down 1.95%), HDFC (down 1.48%), M&M (down 1.4%) and Coal India (down 1.24%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Shares of the state-run oil marketing companies dropped after Brent crude prices moved higher. HPCL (down 3.08%), BPCL (down 2.23%) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) (down 2.48%) declined.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for March 2019 settlement was down 76 cents at $54.15 a barrel. The contract jumped $1.11 a barrel or 2.06% to settle at $54.91 a barrel during the previous trading session.
Higher crude oil prices could increase under-recoveries of public-sector undertaking oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.
Overseas, most Asian stocks fell after Apple Inc. added to global growth concerns by cutting its guidance. Apple downgraded its sales projections, citing slowing Chinese growth. US stocks closed the first session of the year on a positive note after volatile trading Wednesday, as crude oil prices rebounded.
Market participants are watching a partial US government shutdown that is nearing its second week as President Donald Trump mets with top lawmakers to discuss reopening the government by resolving a dispute over funding for the expansion of the US-Mexico border wall.
On the data front, a survey of American manufacturers showed the slowest growth in December in 15 months. IHS Markit said its manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.8 in December from an initial reading of 53.9, and it was down from 55.3 in the prior month.
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