Sensex closes 79 points lower; Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco plunge
The Sensex closed 0.29% lower at 27,346.82 points, while the Nifty fell 0.26% to end at 8,277.55
Mumbai: India’s equity benchmark Sensex fell nearly 79 points on Wednesday, led by losses in shares of metal, oil and gas companies, and banks.
India’s wholesale price inflation rose to 0.11% in December as compared with zero in November. A Bloomberg poll had estimated that WPI will be 0.4% for December.
The Sensex closed 0.29%, or 78.91 points, lower at 27,346.82 points, while the 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange fell 0.26%, or 21.85 points, to end at 8,277.55 points.
Among the gainers, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) rose 3.94% to ₹ 267.85, while Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) rose 4.21% to ₹ 921.95.
Among the losers, Hindalco Industries Ltd fell 6.17% to ₹ 142.10 and Sesa Sterlite Ltd fell 7.63% to ₹ 188.85.
Among sectoral indices, BSE metal index was the top sectoral loser, down 3.50%, while the BSE IT index was the top gainer, up 1.08%.
Shares of cement companies rose for the second consecutive day after CNBC TV-18 reported that manufacturers have raised prices in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Ramco Cements Ltd rose 0.75% to ₹ 328.55, Kesoram Industries Ltd 1.92% to ₹ 119.20, Birla Corp. Ltd 5.17% to ₹ 483, JK Cement Ltd 5.45% to ₹ 660.30 and Dalmia Bharat Ltd 1.32% to ₹ 470.45.
NHPC Ltd rose 5.95% to ₹ 19.60 ahead of its board meeting which will be held on 16 January. The company has advised all its designated employees not to deal in the shares of the company either in their own name or in the name of their dependents.
Max India Ltd rose 0.65% to ₹ 407.55 after The Economic Times reported that the company may be split into three divisions—insurance, healthcare and speciality films—with holding companies being created for each of them.
Jet Airways India Ltd added 0.11% to ₹ 464.75 after the company said promoter and chairman Naresh Goyal pledged his entire 51% shareholding in the carrier, valued at over ₹ 2,600 crore, to state-run Punjab National Bank.
ITC Ltd fell 3.29% to ₹ 348.40 on fears that the stock’s weight may be rebalanced in the MSCI Index. The government on Tuesday moved to amend the anti-smoking law and proposed radical changes, including a ban on sale of loose cigarettes and raising the minimum age of a person buying tobacco products to 21 years from the existing 18 years.
Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd rose 20% to ₹ 10.02 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) agreed to the Tata group proposal to buy back DoCoMo’s 26.5% stake in Tata Teleservices Ltd at a pre-determined price of ₹ 58 a share ( ₹ 7,250 crore for the entire stake). This is despite the company’s valuer, Price Waterhouse, estimating the stake 60% lower at ₹ 23.34 a share.
So far in 2015, the Sensex has fallen 0.6%, while foreign institutional investors have sold $352.5 million from local equity markets and bought $692.4 million from the debt market.
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