Indian shares followed other Asian markets lower on Thursday after Fed chief Bernanke hinted at reducing the current pace of bond purchases and preliminary data showed China’s manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in seven months in May. The Indian rupee opened at 55.84 against the dollar, hitting a fresh six-month low, weighed down by a stronger dollar and lingering concerns about India’s high current account deficit.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex is currently down 150 points or 0.75 percent at 19,911, with 21 of its components retreating. The broader Nifty index is at 6,041, down 53 points or 0.87 percent from its previous close.
Ranbaxy Laboratories is plunging 6 percent after Japanese pharmaceuticals major Daiichi Sankyo said it is initiating legal steps against certain former shareholders of the company for concealing and misrepresenting critical information on the probe by U.S. agencies.
JP Associates is tumbling 5 percent, while Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, BHEL, DLF, Reliance Infrastructure and ICICI Bank are down about 3 percent each.
BPCL is down 2 percent and HPCL is losing a percent after the government asked the Parikh committee to submit its report within two months on switching over to export parity pricing. Thermax is declining 2 percent on reporting an 11 percent decline in quarterly net profit.
Mcleod Russel India is moving down 1.2 percent as it incorporated a new trading unit in Kenya to procure and supply African tea to the company’s Dubai blending unit. Jet Airways India is down over a percent on reports market regulator SEBI has raised objections over parts of the Rs. 2,000-crore deal signed by the carrier with Etihad Airways last month.
BHEL and SBI are down 2 percent each, while Tata Steel is marginally higher ahead of their results today. ONGC is edging up 0.1 percent on a brokerage upgrade. NCC is rising 1.6 percent on robust Q4 results.
Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty fell about 0.3 percent each on Wednesday, as engineering & construction giant Larsen & Toubro posted disappointing Q4 results and investors awaited Bernanke’s speech later in the global day.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.comMarket Analysis