Sensex, Nifty Close Sharply Lower For 4th Straight Day

(RTTNews) - Indian shares tumbled on Monday, losing ground for a fourth straight session, as upbeat U.S. jobs data dimmed prospects of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.

Also, investors were wary of picking up stocks ahead of key inflation data. (Data released after trading hours today showed consumer price inflation in India eased to a four-month low of 5.22%).

The BSE benchmark Sensex closed down 1,048.90 points or 1.36% at 76,330.01, while the broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange settled lower by 345.55 points or 1.47% at 23,085.95.

Realty, metal, automobile, pharmaceuticals, PSU banks, oil and consumer durables reeled under sustained selling pressure.

Among Sensex stocks, only four - Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Hind Unilever and IndusInd Bank - closed in positive territory, gaining between 0.4 and 08%.

Zomato ended down 6.5%. Power Grid Corporation, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, NTPC and Tata Motors lost 3 to 4.1%.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharmceuticals and L&T closed down 2 to 3%. State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Titan Inudstries, Bajaj Finserv, ITC and Maruti Suuzku lost 1 to 1.8%.

Trent, BPCL, BEL, Grasim Industries, ONGC, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises, Shriram Finance, Eicher Motors, Cipla and Hindalco lost 2 to 6%.

Many stocks from midcap and smallcap segments tumbled, pushing the Midcap and Smallcap indices down by over 4%.

The market breadth was very weak. On BSE, 3,562 stocks closed in negative territory, while just 555 stocks moved higher. 131 stocks settled flat.

Data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday showed India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $5.7 billion to $634.59 billion for the week ended January 3. Foreign currency assets decreased by $6.441 billion to $545.48 billion, the data released on Friday showed.

Data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that India's industrial production rose 5.2% year-over-year in November, faster than the 3.7% gain in October. The expected increase was 4%.

Manufacturing output grew 5.8% annually versus a 4.4% rise in October. Similarly, the growth in mining quickened to 1.9% from 0.9%, while electricity production rose 4.4% from last year compared to 2% in October.