Mid-day Mood | Nifty below 19,400, continuous FII selling sours sentiment

Banking stocks index Bank Nifty fell under the 44,000 level, down 1.03 percent with constituents Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and IDFC First Bank leading the losses.

Equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty extended losses on October 4 as they traded near the day’s low at around noon, with the sustained rise in US bond yields and the dollar index further fuelling FII selling, putting the market under pressure.

Banking stocks bore the brunt of foreign investor selling, as the Bank Nifty slipped under 44,000, down over 1 percent from the previous day.

Around 11.40 am, the 30-pack Sensex was down 0.69 percent at 65,057.86, and the broader Nifty50 declined 0.68 percent to 19,395.5. About 13,45 shares advanced, 1,644 declined and 104 remained unchanged.

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Global cues are negative for markets in the near-term. The sustained rise in the US bond yields, which has triggered continuous FII selling, is showing no signs of abating, said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

“The dollar index is now clearly above 107 and the US 10-year bond yield is at 4.83 percent. This means FIIs will continue to sell and the bulls will be on the back foot,” he said.

The foreign institutional investors’ selling spree had left stocks such as large-cap private banks weak, which could be an opportunity for long-term investors, he added.

Traders should keep an eye out for stocks which showing resilience in a weak market such as Bajaj Finance, L&T and Zomato.

Stocks and sectors

Avenue Supermarts stock price gained 2 percent as the company announced an 18.5 percent year-on-year growth in standalone revenue from operations for the July-September quarter at Rs 12,308 crore.

Also Read | Mahindra Finance drops 4% after Q2 business update; brokerages divided on near-term outlook

Shares of JSW Infrastructure jumped 6 percent on the second day of trade after debuting on the bourses on October 3. The counter has gained 40 percent at Rs 167 on BSE against the issue price of Rs 119.

Among the laggards was IDFC First Bank. The private lender was down 2.6 percent, as the bank launched a Rs 3,000-crore QIP.

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) tanked 2 percent in trade as Kotak Institutional Equities issued a “sell” call on the steel major on significant downside risks.

The broader markets and sectoral indices, too, traded, in the red. The banking index Bank Nifty traded at 43,943.25 at 11.40 am, down 1.03 percent, with constituents Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and IDFC First Bank leading the losses. Midcap index Nifty Midcap 100 gave up the 44,000 mark intraday.

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