Sensex closes 0.30 percent down; healthcare, bank stocks plummet

Mumbai  : A benchmark index of Indian equities markets closed Monday’s trade down 0.30 percent as there was heavy selling in healthcare, bank, consumer durables, oil and gas and capital goods stocks.

However, scrips of automobile, information technology (IT), technology, entertainment and media (TECk) rallied.

The Sensex touched its highest intra-trade levels since 2011 during the day as there was sustained buying from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). However, profit-bookings in the banking sector stocks and uncertainty over the government’s new drug-pricing policy sobered the sentiments.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened in the red at 20,277.76 points, closed at 20,223.98 points, down 62.14 points or 0.31 percent from its previous-day close at 20,286.12 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 20,443.62 points and low of 20,186.66 points in intra-day trade.

The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed nearly half a percent down. It closed 0.49 percent or 30.40 points up at 6,156.90 points.

The BSE healthcare index was down 164.40 points followed by the bank index 139.64 points, consumer durables index was lower by 89.71 points, oil and gas index was down 77.76 points and capital goods index was was down 55.48 percent.

However, the automobile index was up 92.00 points, followed by IT index, up 36.04 points, and TECk index, up 5.41 points.

Prominent Sensex gainers were: Maruti Suzuki, up 1.90 percent at Rs.1,741.85; Mahindra & Mahindra, up 1.83 percent at Rs.1,003.55; Bajaj Auto, up 1.70 percent at Rs.1,864.90; Tata Steel, up 1.07 percent at Rs.315.30; and Coal India, up 1.06 percent at Rs.300.75.

Among the major Sensex losers were companies like Bharti Airtel that dropped 2.42 percent to Rs.308; ONGC, down 2.09 percent to Rs.332.90; Cipla, down 1.71 percent to Rs.417.40; Wipro, down 1.70 percent to Rs.338.15; and ICICI Bank, down 1.62 percent to Rs.1,208.65.

Among other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.47 percent up, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng went up by 1.78 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index also closed higher, by 0.75 percent.

In the European markets, Britain’s FTSE 100 was trading 0.12 percent down. However, the German DAX was up 0.34 percent as also the French CAC 40 which was ruling 0.14 percent higher.

Photo  : AFP