Stocks continued to trade with weakness in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 303.11 points or 0.77% at 38,837.17. The Nifty 50 index was down 105.10 points or 0.89% at 11,647.70. Shares of aviation companies fell as Brent crude prices firmed up in international market. Rise in crude oil prices weighed on the sentiment.
Domestic stocks drifted lower in early trade as trading resumed after a long weekend. Stock markets were shut on Friday, 19 April 2019, on account of Good Friday. Key indices cut losses in morning trade after an initial slide triggered by rise in crude oil prices. Crude oil prices rose to the highest in almost six months as the US government reportedly said it won't renew waivers to allow buyers to buy Iranian crude.
Stocks hovered in negative zone in mid-morning trade. Key equity indices further extended losses and hit fresh intraday low in afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.96%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 1.01%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 732 shares rose and 1652 shares fell. A total of 181 shares were unchanged.
Wipro rose 1.04%. Wipro clarified on Friday, 19 April 2019, that it became aware of a potentially abnormal activity within its network about 10 days ago in respect of few of its employee accounts, which were subjected to an advanced phishing campaign. The company promptly kicked off its standard operating procedure for addressing such incidents. The company has used its industry leading cyber security practices and partner ecosystem for remedial steps and has shared this intelligence with its partners to develop the antivirus signatures. The incident did not impact the company's ongoing critical business operations.
Maruti Suzuki India lost 1.23%. Maruti Suzuki India said that the company is all set to launch new 1.2 litre DUALJET, DUAL VVT BS VI engine with next generation Smart Hybrid technology in Baleno. The new BS VI compliant Baleno (Petrol) with Smart Hybrid will soon be available at NEXA showrooms across the country. Existing 1.2L VVT petrol engine variants will also be BS VI compliant and available in all variants including CVT. The announcement was made during market hours today, 22 April 2019.
Shares of aviation companies fell as Brent crude prices firmed up in international market. Jet Airways (India) (down 12.63%), SpiceJet (down 5.43%) and InterGlobe Aviation (down 4.3%) dropped.
ATF constitutes over 40% of an airline's operating costs. Prices of jet fuel are directly linked to crude oil prices.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for June 2019 settlement was up by $1.96 at $73.93 a barrel. The contract rose 35 cents, or 0.49% to settle at $71.97 a barrel during the previous trading session.
Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower as crude oil pushed higher on a report over Iranian oil waivers while the Easter holiday weekend continued in many countries.
Major US exchanges were closed on Good Friday. The most-watched European markets were closed on Good Friday and will also remain closed on Easter Monday.
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