Also, the NSE Nifty cracked below the crucial 7,900-level by falling 24.25 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 7,887.80.
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At 9:32 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 25,798 down 91 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 7,884 down 28 points.
In a recent report on the Indian steel sector, Credit Suisse said, “We note four positive developments for the sector- the inventory cycle has bottomed out globally and given the extent of destocking, the restock could last more than the usual 6-9 months, the dollar weakness has helped stabilize cost curves, Chinese demand stimulus could lead to a demand uptick in 2H that could further elongate the inventory normalisation and supply discipline”.
Weak close in most of the markets across the Asian region and a subdued start in Europe rendered the mood cautious and stock movements quite sluggish for most part of the session.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.24% higher in Wednesday’s trade.
The 30-share barometer opened a shade higher and settled lower by 42.24 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 25,838.14.
At the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty was also trading 21.60 points or 0.27 per cent higher at 7,936.35 points.
Intra-day, it moved between 25,956.34 and 25,716.81. “The sudden fall in the Chinese indices and a dip in crude oil prices too dented sentiments”, Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS.
The gauge had gained over 1,170 points in the past five sessions on the back of upbeat macroeconomic data, forecast of an above-normal monsoon and Infosys’ strong revenue guidance.
Hindustan Unilever took the biggest blow, plunging 2.04 per cent to Rs 884.30, followed by Asian Paints (1.84 per cent) at Rs 871.60.
On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki India (3.09%), State Bank Of India (3.04%), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (1.62%), Tata Motors (1.51%), Mahindra & Mahindra (1.48%), and NTPC (1.42%) were the major gainers in the Sensex.
Twenty of the 30 constituents on the Sensex ended higher Wednesday, while overall advancing issues outnumbered declining ones 1,477 to 1,145 and 148 closed unchanged.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Singapore’s Straits Times indices lost 0.7%-0.9%.
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The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.06% at 11,003, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.10% at 11,068. Domestic investors were net sellers of Rs 239 crore worth equities.
