(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended a choppy session modestly lower on Wednesday, extending the previous session's sell-off, as weak global cues on concerns over political uncertainty in Greece, the rupee's slide on fears over foreign fund outflow and news that the RBI sees little room for lowering interest rates further cut appetite for risk.
A highly fractured mandate in Greece and France's first power shift to a socialist president since 1981 continued to drive risk aversion in Asian trading and European stocks were mixed, dampening investor sentiment.
Metal, banking and oil/gas stocks led the declines, while FMCG stocks rose on defensive buying. Healthcare and IT stocks also closed on a firm note. The benchmark 30-share Sensex moved in both directions before ending down 67 points or 0.4 percent at 16,480, with 22 of its components retreating.
The broader Nifty index fell by 27 points or 0.55 percent to 4,973, while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes ended down 1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
Market heavyweight Reliance Industries fell almost 2 percent, extending recent losses, after the energy giant in its annual report cut its estimates for proven gas reserves in the KG basin gas field by 6.7 percent to 3.67 trillion cubic feet.
Property developer DLF tumbled 4.2 percent on reports that it is mulling selling a majority stake in an insurance joint venture. State-run lender SBI fell 3.6 percent, metal stocks such as Tata Steel, Sterlite, Coal India and Jindal Steel fell 2-3 percent, telecom major Bharti Airtel lost 1.7 percent and automakers Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors ended down over a percent each.
Utility vehicles manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra lost 3.2 percent after reporting production loss of about 250 vehicles due to a major fire at its Nashik plant. ABB declined 1.5 percent on posting a 20 percent fall in quarterly net profit. Punjab National Bank fell 2 percent after declaring its fourth-quarter results.
Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories, which reported a four-fold rise in quarterly net profit, soared 3.8 percent. Tata Metaliks rose 0.7 percent as the pig iron maker said it has allotted one crore shares of Rs 100 each to one of its promoters Tata Steel on a preferential basis. Asian Paints gained 1.3 percent on reporting a 40 percent jump in its fourth-quarter profit on a consolidated basis.
FMCG major ITC jumped 5.6 percent on a brokerage upgrade, software services exporter TCS rose 2.1 percent, aluminum maker Hindalco gained 1.4 percent and Bajaj Auto, India's second largest two-wheeler manufacturer, added 1.2 percent.
(RTTNews) - Elsewhere in Asia, key benchmark indexes in Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, China, Singapore and Japan fell between 0.8 percent and 1.5 percent, as the Greek political impasse raised fears that the debt-embattled nation could reject its existing bailout plan and exit the European Union.
Concerns over France's political direction, weaker commodity prices and caution ahead of Chinese trade and inflation data, due to be released later this week also kept investors on tenterhooks.
Eurozone worries intensified last night after Alexis Tsipras, the left-wing politician who has the mandate to form a government, said he expected Antonis Samaras of New Democracy party and Evangelos Venizelos, the former finance minister who leads the Pasok party, to send a letter to the European Union revoking pledges to austerity measures.
European stocks were mixed in early trading, as concerns over Europe's fiscal health were mitigated to some extent by positive earnings news and better-than-expected trade data out of Germany.
