Weak global cues after uncertainly shrouded United States President Donald Trump’s future made the domestic stock market sluggish on Thursday. The Sensex closed on 30,434.79, down by 223.98 points, while the Nifty ended the day at 9,429.45, down by 96.30 points.
After reports emerged that Trump tried to interfere with a federal investigation, investors were concerned how the political developments will affect Trump’s economic plans. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex tumbled 149.73 points to settle at 30,509 while the broader Nifty50 fell below its crucial psychological level of 9,500 and touched 9.462 at 11.14 am.
During the intra-day trading session, shares of United Breweries dropped about 5% to Rs 773 after the company said that its net profit in the fourth quarter had slumped 87%. Another loser was Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited after its shares fell 2.7% as reports emerged that an arm of Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah may exit the healthcare provider by selling its 4.78% stake. Integrated (Mauritius) Healthcare Holdings Ltd is all likely to sell 6.7 million shares in Apollo Hospitals for a price between Rs 1,245 and Rs 1,260 for each share. The other losers were Bajaj Finserv, JSW Steel, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail and Central Bank. The realty sector was the top loser, trading lower by 1.1%, followed by banks, capital goods and consumer durables.
Among the top gainers were Wipro, TCS and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, reported Mint. While Wipro’s shares gained 0.6%, those of the other two were up by 0.5%. Overall, only 576 shares advanced while as many as 1,444 shares declined. Around 90 shares were unchanged, reported Moneycontrol.
In the Nifty sector, Hindalco was the top loser with its share prices dropping 1.5% to Rs 195. Banks like Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank all suffered losses. So did ITC, ACC, Ambuja Cements, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and Bharti Infratel. Overall, 36 shares plummeted while 15 gained, reported NDTV. Experts said sectors like realty, banking, FMCG, metal and auto indices fell because of selling pressure. The Nifty IT index was the only gainer.
The Asian share markets were also trading in red. Japan’s Nikkei was down by 1.5% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.34%. In US markets, Dow Jones fell 1.8%, while S&P500 fell 1.8%. All eyes will be on Bajaj Auto, Bank of Baroda, CESC and Muthoot Finance on Thursday. These firms will report their fourth quarter earnings later in the day.
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