The benchmark BSE Sensex fell for a second straight session on Monday due to heavy selling in power, metal, infrastructure and PSU stocks amid weak global cues.
Domestic sentiment was hit as Asian shares skidded ahead of central bank meetings in the United States and Japan this week.
Caution prevailed as monthly derivatives contracts are due to expire on Thursday, traditionally marking a volatile period in markets.
Traders also remained wary ahead of the beginning of the second part of Parliament’s Budget session today as concerns over passage of proposed Bills persisted and focus shifted to key Goods and Services Tax Bill.
GST Bill is considered as the country’s biggest indirect tax reform since Independence.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended lower by 159.21 points or 0.62 per cent at 25,678.93 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended down by 44.25 points or 0.56 per cent at 7,855.05.
Barring TECk and IT, all other BSE sectoral indices ended in the red. Among them, power index fell the most by 1.43 per cent, followed by metal 1.06 per cent, infrastructure 1.05 per cent and PSU 0.95 per cent. On the other hand, TECk index was down 0.3 per cent and IT 0.18 per cent.
Gainers, losers
Top five Sensex gainers were Bharti Airtel (+1.63%), TCS (+1.29%), Bajaj Auto (+0.71%), HUL (+0.64%) and Adani Ports (+0.61%), while the major losers were Maruti (-2.18%), Reliance (-2.18%), NTPC (-2.13%), ONGC (-1.85%) and Tata Steel (-1.77%).
Worries about increased capex hit heavyweight Reliance Industries, while Cairn India was hit after posting a quarterly loss.
Reliance Industries fell despite posting its highest quarterly profit since December 2007 after the energy firm said it would raise capex by more than expected this fiscal year due to downstream operations and spending on the upcoming launch of 4G services.
Meanwhile, Cairn India shed 4.13 per cent after the oil and gas explorer posted a quarterly loss, hit by an impairment charge.
Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi Systems dropped 4.43 per cent after its customer Volkswagen posted a 4.1-billion-euro operating loss because of a diesel emissions test-rigging scandal.
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel ended higher by 1.63 per cent after the telecoms company said it would consider a share buyback at its board meeting on Wednesday.
“There are multiple events including central bank meetings and F&O expiry scheduled for this week so market participants are a bit cautious ahead of those,” said Rikesh Parikh, vice-president of equities at Motilal Oswal Securities.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 191.07 crore last Friday, provisional data from the stock exchanges showed.
Global markets
European shares edged lower on Monday, consolidating gains from a strong week which saw a top index touch a 3-month high, with a drop in French utility EDF weighing on the market.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.7 per cent at 1,362.58 points, and was 1.6 per cent off from last Thursday’s peak, which was its highest level since January.
Asian shares dropped on Monday while the dollar slipped as investors took profits from the currency’s recent gains ahead of central bank meetings in the United States and Japan this week.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4 per cent, taking its cue from a mixed day on Wall Street on Friday.
A report by SMC Global said: "Asian stocks fell, as telecommunication companies led Japanese shares lower and investors awaited policy decisions this week from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. US stocks finished Friday's session essentially flat, but spent most of the day in the red, as the market finally got around to noticing its earnings season.Producer prices in Japan were up 0.2 per cent on year in March, the Bank of Japan said - unchanged from the previous month and in line with expectations. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.6 per cent following the flat reading in February. Among the individual components, prices were up for communications, advertising and security; they were down for real estate and leasing. For the first quarter of 2016, prices were up 0.2 per cent on year and down 0.2 per cent on quarter."