The Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Tuesday dragged by financial sector stocks after public sector lender PNB said the amount of fraudulent transactions could be as much as Rs 12,700 crore.
Banking stocks took a plunge with bank Nifty falling 304 points or 1.18% to 25,383 level led by the PNB stock. On the BSE, bankex was the top loser falling 1.43% or 414 points to 28,587 level. The sector is the biggest loser of the day.
IT sector stocks bucked the trend with the BSE IT index rising 0.26% or 32.01 points to 12,399 level. While the Sensex fell 99 points to 34,346 level, the Nifty fell 28 points to 10,554 level.
The market opened in the green but erased its gains on selling in realty, banks, finance and power counters despite higher Asian cues. Market sentiment was bolstered in the morning hours after a Morgan Stanley report said India’s economic recovery is expected to have gathered momentum and GDP growth for the December quarter is likely to have accelerated to 7%, brokers said.
PNB, which has taken the maximum hit on the banking fraud, closed 12.11 percent lower at a 20- month low of 98.35 level. Gitanjali Gems, too, cracked nearly 5%.
On the Sensex, Axis Bank (2.68%), SBI (2.53%) and Sun Pharma (2.02%) were the top losers. Market breadth was negative with 1029 stocks rising against 1705 falling on BSE. 151 stocks were unchanged. Investors are eyeing October-December GDP data, to be released on Tuesday.
On a net basis, DIIs bought shares worth Rs 1,409.45 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,119.51 crore on Monday, provisional data released by stock exchanges showed.
Global stocks
Global stock markets were mixed Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve chair’s testimony in the U.S. Congress later in the day, his first public appearance as head of the Fed.
Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.1 percent to 7,298.20 and France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.1 percent to 5,350.35. Germany’s DAX was flat at 12,525.16. Futures augured a lukewarm start on Wall Street. S&P futures dipped 0.2 percent and Dow futures also fell 0.2 percent.
Japan outperformed the region, with its benchmark Nikkei 225 jumping 1.1 percent to 22,389.86. South Korea’s Kospi finished 0.1 percent lower at 2,456.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.7 percent to 31,268.66, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped 1.1 percent to 3,292.07. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2 percent to 6,056.90. Stocks in Taiwan and Singapore turned lower while other Southeast Asian countries were higher.
