NSE & BSE fall in early trade

Mumbai: Benchmark indices declined in initial trade on Thursday after eight days of rally amid weak trends in the US equity markets triggered by fresh concerns over the recession. IT counters took a beating in the morning trade which resulted in a weak trend in the benchmark indices.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 164.66 points to reach 60,228.11 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty declined by 44.45 points to reach 17,767.95. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continued their buying activity as they further bought equities worth Rs 1,907.95 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Position of stocks listed in BSE

Among the Sensex firms, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Steel were among the major laggards. The country's largest IT services exporter TCS on Wednesday reported a 14.8 percent increase in March quarter net profit at Rs 11,392 crore but flagged worries from its key market of North America. Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, State Bank of India and Maruti were among the gainers.

Performance of markets worldwide

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan, and Shanghai were trading in the green, while Hong Kong quoted lower. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday.

"Markets may drift lower in early Thursday trade after the key US indices ended lower overnight which resulted in Asian gauges trading mixed. While yesterday's key economic readings such as moderating inflation and improved IIP growth are positive developments, the markets could take a pause after witnessing a continuous uptick over the past few sessions. "Also, recession concerns grew after the US FOMC minutes showed that Fed expects banking turmoil to cause a recession while reigniting inflation fears are a spike in oil prices to USD 83 a barrel," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said in his pre-market opening quote.

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