Sensex, Nifty fall for 2nd day on weak global cues, ITC drops

Mumbai: Indian stock markets on Wednesday fell for the second straight session with benchmark Sensex dropping nearly 79 points to end at 27,346.82 as ITC shares tanked on worries related to proposed ban on sale of loose cigarettes while metal stocks tracked weak global cues.

Selling was seen in metal, FMCG, healthcare, realty, banking, oil & gas, consumer durables, PSU and power sector stocks. There was, however, some buying in IT, teck, auto, power and capital goods sector stocks which capped the losses.

WPI inflation rose marginally to 0.1 per cent in December but the data was discounted by the participants, traders said.

After Tuesday's over 159-point fall, the 30-share BSE Sensex on Wednesday opened in positive terrain but slipped into the negative zone to touch the day's low of 27,203.25. It settled down by 78.91 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 27,346.82.

Shares of ITC Ltd, having 10.75 per cent weight on the Sensex, tumbled down by 3.29 per cent after government proposed to amend the anti-smoking law and proposed radical changes, including ban on sale of loose cigarettes.

Sentiments were dampened largely in tandem with a weak trend at other Asian stocks after base metal prices slumped as slowing global growth dims the outlook for commodities. This triggered selling in metal space stocks on domestic bourses, said equity brokers.

Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Hindustan Zinc, JSW Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel and Power, National Aluminium and NMDC fell up to 8 per cent per cent.

Overall, 19 Sensex constituents declined while 11 rose. The 50-issue NSE Nifty ended 21.85 points, or 0.26 per cent down, at 8,277.55 after shuttling between 8,326.45 and 8,236.65.

Sectorwise, the BSE Metal index suffered the most by tumbling 3.50 per cent, followed by Healthcare index, Realty index, FMCG indes Oil & Gas index, Banking index and Consumer Durables index.

On the other hand, BSE IT, Teck, Auto, Power and Capital Goods indices ended higher. Meanwhile, foreigners bought shares worth net Rs 235.09 crore on Tuesday as per provisional data.