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Weak rupee, SBI earnings drag Sensex, Nifty lower

Last updated on: August 11, 2015 17:30 IST

Benchmark share indices ended lower on Tuesday with SBI leading the decline on concerns over weak earnings and rising non-performing assets. Further, the continuing logjam over the GST Bill and sharp depreciation in the rupee post China's devaluation of the yuan also dampened sentiment.

The 30-share Sensex end 236 points lower at 27,866 and the 50-share Nifty closed 63 points lower at 8,462. In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index ended down 0.5% and the Small-cap index ended down 1.1%.

Market breadth ended weak with 1,897 losers and 993 gainers on the BSE.

"The continuing logjam over the GST Bill and the sharp depreciation in the rupee post the devaluation of the yuan by China in addition to weak earnings from major corporates weighed on market sentiment," said G. Chokkalingam, Founder & Managing Director, Equinomics Research & Advisory.

Meanwhile, the continued protests by the Congress over the GST Bill after it was tables by the government in the Rajya Sabha also weighed on sentiment.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day. Further, the government will announce index based on consumer price inflation for July and index of industrial production for June tomorrow.

Rupee

The rupee continued to trade weak down 34 paise at 64.21 as the US dollar strengthened after China surprisingly devalued the yuan by nearly 2%.

Sectors and stocks

Except for IT all other sectoral indices ended in the red with Metal down nearly 3.5% folllowed by Auto, Bankex and Realty sectors among others.

State Bank of India slumped nearly 5% after the state-owned banking major reported lower-than-expected net interest income while rising non-performing assets also weighed on sentiment.

The bank reported a net interest income of Rs 13,732 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2015 compared to analysts estimate of Rs 15,344 crore.

Further, gross non-performing assets were higher at 4.29% in the qurter compared with 4.25% in the previous quarter.

Among other financials, HDFC, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank ended down 1-2.5% each.

Metal shares fell the most on concerns that the devaluation of the yuan would make exports costlier. Tata Steel , Hindalco and Vedanta ended down 3-5.5% each.

Tata Motors continued to witness profit taking and was down nearly 3% after the company last week said its net profit for the April-June period dropped 49% to Rs 2,769 crore, as its retail sales for the most valuable products, Jaguar and Land Rover, plunged 33 per cent in China.

M&M ended down 1.6% after the company reported marginal decline in net profit for April-June 2015 quarter Weighed down by lack of new products in the passenger vehicle space and drastic fall in demand for tractors.

Capital goods shares eased ahead of June IIP data scheduled for release on Tuesday.

BHEL and L&T ended down 1-1.6% each. However, IT majors Infosys and TCS ended up 1.2-2% each on reports that both the companies are in the race for GST Bill IT contract.

Among other shares, Chennai Petroleum Corporation rallied 17%, extending its previous day’s 15% surge on the BSE, after reporting a strong set numbers for the first quarter ended June 30, 2015 (Q1).

The stock is currently trading at its fresh 52-week high on the bourses.

Tyre makers such as JK Tyre & Industries, MRF, Ceat, Goodyear India and Apollo Tyres have fallen by up to 12% after after China's central bank moved to devalue its tightly controlled currency, stoking fears of Chinese exports becoming cheaper.

Tilaknagar Industries ended down 9% on media reports that Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD) has cancelled its plan to acquire stake in Tilaknagar Industries.

India Glycols jumped 9% after the company's net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 surged nearly five-fold to Rs 7.7 crore compared with Rs 1.3 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal on the back of lower expenses.

Shares of Syngene International which made their debut on the bourses today ended up 24% at Rs 310 compared to the issue price of Rs 250 per share.

Tulemino Antao
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