Clutched by US Rate hike fears, Sensex turns Red

Market showed certain signs of restraint since the Sensex settled in the red on Friday post RIL earnings failed to impress investors and on heightened prospects of a US rate hike amid mixed Asian cues. Nonetheless, for the week, the Sensex and the Nifty noted gains by rising 403.58 points, or 1.45 per cent, and 109.65 points, or 1.27 per cent, respectively. Foreign investors held themselves back because of the hike in US dollar index led by increasing certainty of higher US borrowing costs.

FIIs were not active in the market since the surge in US dollar index backed by growing certainty of Fed rate hike. As anticipated, ECB retained status quo and ruled out possibility of sudden end in QE which provided breather to the market. With nothing much in the European Central Bank latest debate to rock the boat, stock markets could end the day in positive territory, even as the euro was put under pressure. The banking sector was upgraded by this week’s positive results from US financial businesses, with BNY Mellon being the latest to report better than expected figures.

The 30-share index remained in the negative zone for the most part. But some fag-end value buying implied that it recovered a bit before settling at 28,077.18, down 52.66 points, or 0.19 per cent.

The broader Nifty also gave in to the pressure before recovering to close lower by 6.35 points, or 0.07 per cent at 8,693.05.

A mixed trend dominated in rest of Asia following an earthquake in western Japan, which weighed on equities. Hong Kong markets were shut because of a typhoon. In contrast, broader markets were in a better position, with the mid-cap and small-cap indices closing higher by 0.31 per cent and 0.10 per cent, respectively.

Funds as well as retailers accumulated momentum post Reliance Industries’ yesterday Q2 numbers. It reported a 23 per cent drop in its second quarter consolidated net profit, which had a bearing on stock movement. RIL shares rallied down 2.21 per cent to Rs 1,064.40 post the consolidated net profit in July-September came in at Rs 7,206 crore, 22.9 per cent lower than Rs 9,345 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

ACC share price jumped 3.10 per cent to Rs 1,562.05 post the company said its consolidated net profit fell 29 per cent to Rs 81.97 crore for the September quarter.

Taking a glance at the sectors, the BSE consumer durables index slipped 1.70 per cent and metal index shed 0.62 per cent. On the other hand, Realty gained the most by rising 0.86 per cent followed by IT 0.69 per cent.

Yesterday, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 7.30 crore, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. On a global basis, a mixed trend popped up in other Asian bourses, aiding key indices on the domestic bourses trim their losses.
Japan’s Nikkei came off six-month highs by dipping 0.30 per cent after the quake while Shanghai Composite rose 0.21 per cent. In Europe, most indices increased in their early deals after the European Central Bank quashed talks regarding its future monetary policy. Key indices in France, Germany and London grew between 0.04 per cent and 0.12 per cent.