Markets drop lower on profit booking; weak Asian cues

Published: Tuesday, November 5, 2013, 9:34 [IST]

Indian markets opened the week lower after hitting new records last week. The Sensex was trading lower by 94 points, while the Nifty was lower by 30 points in trade.

Software stocks saw some selling pressure in trade today, following worries over the US Immigration Bill. Among the stocks from the sector that saw declines were HCL Tech, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services all declining by 1 per cent.

PSU banking stocks which had a sharp run in trade in the last few weeks continued to gain ground in trade today. Among the notable gainers were Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Punjab National Bank.

Private sector banks, however, were subdued in trade with Axis Bank, yes Bank and ICICI Bank all dropping more then 1 per cent in trade.

Among the few Nifty gainers were Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite, Reliance Industries and Hindalco. Bharti Airtel was trading higher after the company signed an agreement to acquire Warid's Congo Brazzaville operations.

Shares in Oriental Bank surged after the company announced a hike in interest rates.

FMCG stocks saw some selling pressure in trade today as dealers say there could be a a sector rotation away from the expensive FMCG stocks. Among the shares that lost ground were Hindustan Unilever, ITC and United Breweries.

Asian markets were also trading lower with the Hong Kong's Hang Sang, the Korean Kospi and the Seoul Composite drifting lower.

Meanwhile, the rupee loss ground and was trading at 61.88 to the dollar.

GoodReturns.in

Story first published: Tuesday, November 5, 2013, 9:34 [IST]