Bank stocks keep indices under pressure, Nifty PSU Bank index falls 3%; key things from today’s trade

Nifty Pharma index was the top gainer, up nearly 2 per cent, followed by Nifty Media, Nifty Metal and Nifty Auto indices

Indian share markets traded in the negative territory throughout the session on Wednesday as weak global cues weighed on investor sentiment. Index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries (RIL), Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel stocks helped indices to recover from day’s low. BSE Sensex fell 171 points or 0.45 per cent to end at 38,194, while the broader Nifty 50 index finished 39 points or 0.35 per cent down at 11,278. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries today announced Rs 7,500 crore investment from the Silver Lake in Reliance Retail. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that KKR & Co. is in advanced talks to invest at least $1 billion in the retail business, which led to over 2.5 per cent rise in the RIL stock price.

Top BSE Sensex losers: Blue-chip stocks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, ITC and Axis Bank contributed the most to the indices’ loss today. On the BSE Sensex, State Bank of India shares fell 4.46 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, ONGC, ITC and Bajaj Finance, down in the range of 2.20-4.5 per cent.

RIL caps the losses: Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were among top BSE Sensex gainers, up in between 1.30-3.05 per cent. The other gainers on the index were Asian Paints, Nestle India, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj-Auto and Power Grid Corporation of India.

Nifty PSU Bank index down nearly 3%: The trend among the Nifty sectoral indices was largely negative, with Nifty Bank index down over 2 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank index fell the most today. On the flip side, Nifty Pharma index was the top gainer, up nearly 2 per cent, followed by Nifty Media, Nifty Metal and Nifty Auto indices.

MidCaps outperform: In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap ended 0.28 per cent lower at 14,443 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index finished 0.94 per cent or 135.54 points lower at 14,302.

Route Mobile IPO subscribed 80% on day 1: Route Mobile IPO which opened for public subscription today subscribed 80 per cent till 4.15 PM, with bids received for 55 lakh shares from non-institutional investors and retail individual investors on BSE. QIBs placed bids for 42,000 shares, Non-institutional investors for 5 lakh shares while retail investors for 49 lakh shares.

What expert has to say: “Markets are mirroring the global counterparts and we do not notice this scenario changing any time soon. Nifty has the next major support around 11,100 levels. Since we are seeing a mixed trend on the sectoral front, we suggest preferring defensive viz. FMCG, pharma and IT for long trades during the corrective phase. On the flip side, we may see further deterioration in banking and select PSU stocks,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd.