Indian equities tumble again; rupee weakens

The key Indian equity indices yesterday tumbled for the fourth consecutive session as negative global cues, a weak rupee, and heavy selling pressure in automobile, healthcare, and capital goods stocks hampered investors’ sentiments.The key indices were pulled down by individual index heavyweights like Tata Motors, Dr Reddy’s Lab, Sun Pharma and Adani Ports, among others, which faced intense selling pressure.According to market observers, volatility was witnessed in the equity markets during the day’s trade, with the NSE Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) slipping over 100 points, falling below the psychologically important 9,800-level for the first time since July 18.However, the NSE Nifty 50 recovered slightly to close lower by 87.80 points, or 0.89%, at 9,820.25 points.The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, too, plunged over 300 points intra-day. The Sensex, which opened at 31,750.73 points, closed at 31,531.33 points – down 266.51 points, or 0.84%, from its previous close at 31,797.84 points.The Sensex touched a high of 31,756.27 points and a low of 31,422.80 points during the intra-day trade.The BSE market breadth heavily favoured bears – with 2,274 declines and 303 advances.In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index declined by 2.64% and the small-cap index by 3.60%. Both the indices crashed more than 5% during the last three sessions.“Markets corrected further yesterday as selling intensified in the last hour of trade. It was the fourth consecutive session of losses, as Nifty closed at almost its one-month lows,” Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities, told IANS.“The indices ended lower led by losses in pharma, auto, and banking stocks. Individual stocks also dragged the sentiment on poor June-quarter result show,” Jasani added.On the currency front, the rupee weakened by 25 paise to close at 64.08-09 to a US dollar from its previous close at 63.83-84.