Rupee, Q3 results spook investors

Mumbai: The stock market ended low on a caution ahead of third quarter earnings besides macro data worries on Tuesday. Nifty fell below psychological 7,500-mark in intraday as bank, tech and metal stocks weighed down. Sensex closed 143 points down at 24,682 after hitting 52-week low of 24,597, Nifty fell 53 points at 7,510, hitting 52-week low of 7,488-mark.

Also, the broader markets closed weak in line with benchmark indices, the midcap and small cap indices down between 0.9 per cent and 1.05 per cent. The bluechip stocks took a massive hit, 12 out of 50 Nifty stocks hit their fresh 52-week lows. Experts say, the bearish sentiment sill continued which was supported by a weak rupee and expectedly lower Q3 results.

On sectoral front, banking, oil and gas and auto indices under selling pressure and on the other hand, consumer durables, healthcare indices raised over 17 and 10 points, respectively. From banking pack, most of the banks were traded multi-month lows, including, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Fed Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India. On the other hand, energy stocks come under selling pressure with ONGC, Cairn India and RIL down between 0.6 per cent and 3 per cent.

The gainers: NTPC, up 2.47 per cent at Rs 145.15; Wipro, up 2.08 per cent at Rs 549; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), up 1.59 per cent at Rs 1,182.15; Adani Ports, up 0.94 per cent at Rs 236.20; and Hindustan Unilever, up 0.87 per cent at Rs 819.50.

The losers: Axis Bank, down 2.67 per cent at Rs 406.10; Tata Steel, down 2.24 per cent at Rs 246.35; State Bank of India (SBI), down 2.18 per cent at Rs 199.85; ONGC, down 2.14 per cent at Rs 221.50; and Bharti Airtel, down 1.91 per cent at Rs 315.15.