Sensex Ends Marginally Lower; Telecom and Metal Stocks Witness Selling

Mon, 16 Dec Closing

   Previous Close   

   Pre-Open   

   09:30 am   

   12:30 pm   

Share markets in India continued to trade on a volatile note during closing hours and ended their trading session marginally lower.

The BSE Sensex jumped as much as 175 points in opening trade today to hit a record high of 41,185. However, benchmark indices erased gains as traders became cautious.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the telecom sector, metal sector and FMCG sector witnessing most of the selling pressure, while IT stocks and realty stocks witnessed buying interest.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 71 points while the NSE Nifty closed down by 26 points. The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down by 0.5%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down by 0.2%.

Asian stock markets finished on a mixed note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite was up 0.6%. The Nikkei 225 stood lower by 0.3%.

The rupee was trading at 71.00 against the US$.

Speaking of stock markets in general, in the video below, Rahul Shah talks about the one important chart all investors should see before making a big investment in 2020.

Tune in to find out more...

In news from the economy, data released by the commerce and industry ministry today showed that wholesale prices-based inflation rose to 0.58% in November, as against 0.16% in October due to increase in prices of food articles.

The rate of price rise for food articles rose to 11% during the month as against 9.8% a month earlier, while for non-food articles it eased 1.93% from 2.35% in October.

Inflation in onions rose a whopping 172.3% last month while that in vegetables was up 45.3%.

Inflation in manufactured products remained unchanged at -0.84% during the month under review while that in fuel and power was -7.32%.

Official data released last week showed retail inflation rising to over a 3-year high of 5.54% in November due to costlier food products like vegetables, pulses and protein-rich items.

The retail inflation in November breached the Reserve Bank's medium-term target of 4%, justifying the central bank's decision to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged in its monetary policy earlier this month.

Moving on to news from the banking sector, the Nifty Bank index hit fresh record high in early trade today on expectations that ArcelorMittal could complete payment worth Rs 420 billion in the Essar Steel case to the lenders.

Reportedly, the funds are in a SBI account which will be distributed to financial creditors and operational creditors today.

Shares of State Bank of India (SBI) gained over 1% intraday today on back of the above news.

In other news, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank had acted ahead of time by starting to slash rates in February this year, and hoped the decision to pause the cuts earlier this month will prove to be a right call over time.

Speaking at the India Economic Conclave organized by the Times Group, he said that "both the government and RBI have acted in time. And I can say with regard RBI, we have acted a little bit ahead of time in terms of reducing our policy rates."

He also hoped for the US-China truce on trade tariffs, announced over the weekend, would last as he pitched for coordinated efforts to push global growth like those after the 2008 financial crisis.

Note that the above comments from Das come following a series of five consecutive rate cuts by RBI starting February this year by a cumulative 1.35%.

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India kept its repo rate unchanged at 5.15%. The RBI also revised its GDP growth outlook for 2019-20 downwards from 6.1% to 5%.

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the RBI in a surprise decision kept its repo rate steady at 5.15%.

With the RBI keeping interest rates unchanged, the focus of market participants has now shifted to whether the RBI's rate cut will translate into better economic activity in the near term.

Like this chart shows, RBI rate cuts have always had a big gap with bank lending rates.

Yet Another RBI Rate Cut May Not Result in Lower Lending Rates

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee wrote about it in a recent edition of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• It will be a while before lower lending rates stoke the economy.
  
  Therefore, hoping for an immediate revival in the economy is futile. The RBI has no magic wand to do this.
  
  Rather look for stocks that can outperform irrespective of the RBI policy.
  
  I believe the cement sector may be a good place to start.
  
  One of my recent recommendations from the sector is a typical Rebirth of India stock.
  
  And I won't be surprised if it repeats its 2002-2006 performance.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary

Top Gainers TodayTop Gainers over 1-WeekTop Gainers over 1-MonthTop Gainers over 1-YearTop Gainers over 3-YrsTop Gainers over 5-YrsTop Losers TodayTop Losers over 1-WeekTop Losers over 1-MonthTop Losers over 1-YearTop Losers over 3-YrsTop Losers over 5-YrsOnly BuyersOnly SellersMost Active StocksMost Popular Stocks52 Week High Stocks52 Week Low Stocks

INDICESBSE (Rs 0 to 1)BSE (Rs 1 to 2)BSE (Rs 2 to 4)BSE (Rs 4 to 10)BSE (Rs 10 to 20)BSE (Above Rs 20)BSE - AllBSE-30BSE-100BSE-200BSE-500BSE AutoBSE BankexBSE Capital GoodsBSE Consumer DurablesBSE FMCGBSE HealthcareBSE ITBSE MetalBSE Oil & GasBSE PSUBSE TeckBSE RealtyBSE PowerBSE A GroupBSE B GroupBSE Mid-CapBSE Small-CapBSE Basic MaterialsBSE Consumer DiscretionaryBSE IndustrialsBSE UtilitiesBSE Sensex 50BSE Sensex Next 50BSE Bharat 22BSE 150 MidCapBSE 250 SmallCapBSE 250 LargeMidCapBSE 400 MidSmallCapBSE AllCapBSE LargeCapBSE SmallCap SelectBSE 100 LargeCap TMCBSE InfraBSE ManufacturingBSE CPSEBSE Private BankBSE Diversified FinancialsBSE MomentumBSE Low VolatilityBSE QualityBSE Enhanced ValueBSE Divident StabilityS&P BSE IPOBSE SMEIPOBSE 100 ESGBSE CarbonexBSE GreenexNSE (Rs 0 to 10)NSE (Rs 10 to 20)NSE (Above Rs 20)NSE - AllNSE-50NSE ITNSE Nifty Midcap 50NSE JR. NiftyNSE Bank NiftyNIFTY Next 50NIFTY 100NIFTY 200NIFTY 500NIFTY MidCap 100NIFTY SmallCap 250NIFTY SmallCap 50NIFTY SmallCap 100NIFTY LargeMidCap 250NIFTY MidSmallCap 400NIFTY AutoNIFTY Consumer DurablesNIFTY FinanceNIFTY FMCGNIFTY MediaNIFTY MetalNIFTY PharmaNIFTY Private BankNIFTY PSU BankNIFTY RealtyNIFTY Oil & GasNIFTY SME EmergeNIFTY CommoditiesNIFTY CPSENIFTY EnergyNIFTY India ConsumptionNIFTY InfraNIFTY MNCNIFTY PSENIFTY Serv SectorNIFTY100 Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap 150 Quality 50NIFTY50 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Low Volatility 30NIFTY100 Alpha 30NIFTY Alpha 50NIFTY Dividend Opportunities 50NIFTY High Beta 50NIFTY Low Volatility 50NIFTY200 Quality 30NIFTY 500 Value 50NIFTY 100 Quality 30SECTORSAgricultureAirlinesAluminiumAsset Management CompaniesAutomobilesAuto AncillariesBanks (Private)Banks (PSU)BankingCementChemicalsDefenceDiagnosticsDronesEngineeringElectric VehicleElectric Vehicle BatteryEnergy SourcesESGEthanolFertilizersFintechFMCGFoodGreen HydrogenHotelsInfrastructureInsuranceInvestment and FinanceInvITIT (Large)IT (Others)LogisticsMediaMetalMiningIndia's Big Tech StocksIndian PharmaMNC PharmaPSUPaintPaperPlasticPowerRating AgenciesReal EstateREITsRenewable EnergyRetailingSemiconductorShippingSteelSugarSupply ChainTelecomTextilesTravel Support Services

10 results 25 results 50 results 100 results All results

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers