Sensex, Nifty extend losses; Bank Nifty hits fresh 52-week low

Moneycontrol Bureau12:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to be lower with the Sensex falling 136.54 points to 24688.50 and the Nifty down 46.65 points to 7517.20.The market breadth remained in favour of declines. About 1478 shares declined against 1053 advancing shares on the BSE.12:50 pm Asia Update: Asia's major markets closed mostly lower, with investor sentiment in the region remaining fragile as oil prices continued to slide and China concerns weighed.

The Australian market erased its morning gains to slip into negative territory, with the main ASX 200 closing down 7.13 points, or 0.14 percent, at 4,925. In Japan, where markets resumed trading today after a day off Monday, the Nikkei 225 finished 479 points, or 2.71 percent, lower at 17,218.96. In South Korea, the Kospi closed down 3.98 points, or 0.21 percent, at 1,890.86.

The Shanghai composite was up 0.13 percent after rising as much as 0.9 percent and falling as much as 0.71 percent in the first 10 minutes of trade. On Monday, a late-afternoon sell-off saw the index fall more than 5 percent.12:40 pm Omkar Speciality in news: Omkar Speciality Chemicals has received environment clearance for its manufacturing unit - V in Maharashtra.

The production at this unit shall commence in phased manner. In phase I, the company plans to produce vitamin C & folic acid, says the company.12:20 pm Nifty breaks 7500: The 50-share NSE Nifty breached 7500 intraday, down 57 points to 7506. Bank Nifty hit fresh 52-week low with all stocks trading in red.12:15 pm Foreign reserves eased: India's foreign reserves eased to USD 350 billion by the end of December last year, down about USD 5 billion from its record peak seen in mid-2015, according to a report published today by a leading Singapore-based bank. Currency valuations and the authorities' active presence to contain rupee volatility likely influenced the pace of reserve accumulation, DBS Bank said in its today's report on Asian economies. The report said despite the modest pullback, the current stock is comfortable on domestic metrics, especially with regard to the import cover (10x) and adequacy to cover short-debt external debt levels.

But the coverage falls short when compared to the total external debt position and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) vis-a-vis regional counterparts.

Also read - One measure that shows we're not facing 2008-like crash: DSPBR12:00 pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks extended losses with the Sensex falling 164.32 points to 24660.72 and the Nifty down 52.40 points to 7511.45, dragged by banks and IT stocks. The broader markets also wiped out morning gains, declining marginally. The market breadth too turned in favour of declines.

Axis Bank fell more than 3 percent followed by Tata Motors, ONGC and Hindalco Industries with more than 2 percent losses. Infosys and TCS declined nearly 1.5 percent ahead of third quarter earnings this week. L&T, BHEL and NTPC were only gainers with more than 1 percent upside.

Aviation companies gained strength following further correction in crude oil prices. Brent crude fell below USD 31 a barrel, down 3 percent to USD 30.58 a barrel and NYMEX crude lost 2.77 percent to USD 30.54 a barrel. Jet Airways, SpiceJet and InterGlobe Aviation climbed 2-4 percent.