Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices were in the negative zone during early hours on Tuesday in line with global cues while investors remained cautious after the government last week reported 5 per cent GDP growth during the first fiscal quarter of April to June. At 10.15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 421 points or 1.1 per cent at 36,912 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 118 points to 10,905.
At the National Stock Exchange, all sectoral indices except for Nifty IT and pharma were in the red. Nifty PSU bank was down by over 2 per cent, financial services by 1.4 per cent and metal by 1 per cent. Among stocks, Indian Oil Corporation dropped by 3.4 per cent, Tata Motors by 2.7 per cent, Ultratech Cement by 2.6 per cent and ICICI Bank by 2.4 per cent.
The other prominent losers were Bharat Petroleum Corporation, ONGC, Eicher Motors and HDFC. However, IT stocks like Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys showed some gains. Meanwhile, Asian stocks continued their downward slide after the United States and China imposed new tariffs on each other`s goods.
Despite a series of measures announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to revive private investment and the transfer of the RBI’s excess reserve to the government, investor confidence remained subdued.
India ‘VIX’ or the volatility index — the market’s expectation of volatility over the near term — closed at 18.60, after it surged nearly 12 per cent.
Nifty PSU Bank index fell the most on Tuesday – by nearly 5 per cent. It was followed by heavy selling in metal stocks, with the index declining by over 3 per cent.
Investors reacted to the data released on Friday which showed that India grew at its weakest pace between April and June since 2013. Besides, poor monthly auto sales data and weak core sector data added to the further sell-off in the equity markets.
Except for HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra, all the 30 Sensex scrips finished lower. ICICI Bank, Tata Motors (DVR), Tata Steel, Vedanta and HDFC comprised the top index losers, declining in the range of 3 to 5 per cent.