Sensex slips to 6-month low due to rupee woes

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell for the fourth session in a row to hit their over six-month low levels, dragged by IT and pharma stocks as concerns over rupee fall, global trade war tiff and geo-political tensions resurfaced.

The Sensex closed 287.15 points lower at 33,847.23, its weakest since April 10 last. The NSE Nifty dropped 98.45 points to end at 10,146.80, registering its lowest closing since April 4.

However, short-covering by speculators towards the fag-end helped both the key indices to trim losses.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated to 73.82 (intra-day) against the US dollar, which too had a negative influence.

“Profit booking in IT & Pharmaceuticals stocks dragged the indices lower today. These two sectors were holding their ground recently while overall markets corrected. Investors choose to book some profits here as the tailwinds of depreciating currency are slowing,” said V.K. Sharma, Head PCG & Capital Markets Group, HDFC Securities.

The Sensex closed down 287.15 points or 0.84 per cent at 33,847.23 after hitting a low of 33,742.75. This is the weakest closing since April 10 last, when it settled at 33,880.25. The index had lost 1,028 points in the previous three sessions.

The broader NSE Nifty too fell below the 10,200 level by dropping 98.45 points, or 0.96 per cent, to end at 10,146.80. Intra-day, it touched a low of 10,102.35.

“In yet another volatile trading session, the Indian equity benchmark indices ended lower for fourth straight session, driven largely by weak global cues... Barring Power & Realty which ended marginally higher, all the other sectoral indices ended in the red with IT, Healthcare & FMCG being the top losers, down 1.2-2.8 per cent. Globally, the Asian & European indices traded sharply lower,” experts said.

Overall sentiment remained weak largely in sync with other Asian markets, tracking overnight losses at the Wall Street as caution grew ahead of a slew of earnings reports this week, brokers said.