The Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Tuesday, weighed down by losses in the stocks of Tata Group companies after Cyrus Mistry was ousted as chairman of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Sons.
The benchmark BSE index closed down 87.66 points or 0.31 per cent at 28,091.42, while the broader NSE index ended 117.65 points or 0.2 per cent lower at 8,691.30.
Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Power and Tata Consultancy Services lost between 1 and 2.5 per cent, dragging down the NSE index.
Among BSE sectoral indices, IT index fell the most by 0.84 per cent, FMCG 0.83 per cent, TECk 0.56 per cent and capital goods 0.53 per cent. On the other hand, infrastructure index was up 0.56 per cent, healthcare 0.46 per cent, consumer durables 0.46 per cent and banking 0.25 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Adani Ports (+9.43%), Dr Reddy's (+3.59%), ICICI Bank (+1.6%), Axis Bank (+1.49%) and Bharti Airtel (+1.48%), while the major losers were M&M (-2.72%), Tata Steel (-2.51%), GAIL (-2.02%), HUL (-2.00%) and ONGC (-1.3%).
Cyrus Mistry's ouster
Tata Sons, which is a large shareholder in a string of listed Tata Group companies, had announced late on Monday that Ratan Tata would replace Cyrus Mistry as chairman in the interim.
While the Tata Sons' board gave no detailed reason for the change, some media reports said there has been discontent with some of Mistry's actions, including asset sales.
Among the Tata Group companies, Tata Steel was the top percentage loser on the broader NSE index, shedding 2.7 per cent, while others such as Tata Power, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Motors also dropped between 1 and 2 per cent.
“Investors are basically exercising caution due to the uncertainty surrounding the sacking,” said Mugilan. K, deputy manager of research at Cholamandalam Securities.
“We are mostly seeing short-term trading on Tata stocks as traders are looking to book profit because of the situation. However, this is not likely to sustain for a long period.”
Investors were also cautious ahead of October’s expiry in the derivatives segment on Thursday.
Global markets
Japanese shares hit a six-month top on Tuesday as the dollar advanced on the yen, while the risk sentiment got a lift after factory surveys in the United States and Europe boasted the best readings of the year so far.
The S&P 500 hit a two-week high on Monday on the back of strong earnings, while a flurry of acquisitions indicated corporate America continues to see untapped value in the market.