Sensex falls over 100 pts; Rupee slips 4 paise to 69.38 vs USD in early trade

Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 100 points in early trade Thursday amid heavy foreign fund outflow and negative global cues.

The 30-share index was trading 130.35 points, or 0.33 per cent, lower at 39,626.46 at 0940 hours. (PTI)

Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 100 points in early trade Thursday amid heavy foreign fund outflow and negative global cues. The 30-share index was trading 130.35 points, or 0.33 per cent, lower at 39,626.46 at 0940 hours. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was quoting 35.90 points, or 0.30 per cent, down at 11,870.30. In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE gauge settled 193.65 points, or 0.48 per cent, lower at 39,756.81; and the Nifty fell 59.40 points, or 0.50 per cent, to close at 11,906.20. Yes Bank was the worst performer in the Sensex pack, cracking up to 8.73 per cent, after Moody's placed the private sector lender's ratings under review for a possible downgrade. IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Vedanta, Tata Steel, Infosys, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors too fell up to 5.75 per cent. On the other hand, L&T, TCS, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance rose up to 1.20 per cent. According to experts, market mood was negative tracking weak cues from global markets amid rising uncertainty over trade talks between the US and China. While Shanghai Composite Index was trading on a positive note, Hang Seng, Nikkei, and Kospi were trading in the red in their respective early sessions. Bourses on Wall Street too ended lower on Wednesday. Heavy outflow of foreign funds too weighed on investor sentiment here, traders said. Foreign institutional investors sold equity worth Rs 1,050.43 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares to the tune of Rs 271.15 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed on Wednesday. On the currency front, the Indian rupee depreciated marginally to 69.37 against the US dollar. The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.08 per cent lower at 59.92 per barrel. Rupee slips 4 paise to 69.38 vs USD in early trade The rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 4 paise to 69.38 against the US dollar in early trade Thursday amid strengthening of the greenback vis-a-vis other currencies overseas, even as crude oil prices eased. Forex traders said weak macro data foreign fund outflows and cautious opening in domestic equities added pressure to the domestic unit. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened on at 69.33 then fell to 69.38 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 4 paise over its previous closing. The local unit, however, pared some losses and was quoted at 69.37 against the American currency at 1005 hrs. The Indian rupee Friday had closed at 69.34 against the US dollar. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out Rs 1,050.43 crore on a net basis Wednesday, provisional data showed. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.13 per cent to USD 59.89 per barrel. On the domestic front, the Reserve Bank of India will infuse Rs 15,000 crore into the financial system through bond purchases Thursday. "Based on an assessment of prevailing liquidity conditions and also of the durable liquidity needs going forward, the RBI has decided to conduct purchase of (six) government securities under OMOs for an aggregate amount of Rs 150 billion on June 13, 2019 (Thursday) through multi-security auction using the multiple price method," the central bank had said in a statement. Retail inflation spiked to 3.05 per cent in May from 2.99 per cent in April, government data showed.