Sensex gripped by US rate hike fears, slips into red zone

Mumbai, Oct 21 (PTI) Market showed some signs of restraint as the Sensex ended up in the red today after RIL earnings failed to move investors and on heightened prospects of a US rate hike amid mixed Asian cues.

However, for the week, the Sensex and the Nifty recorded gains by rising 403.58 points, or 1.45 per cent, and 109.65 points, or 1.27 per cent, respectively.

Foreign investors held themselves back due to the surge in US dollar index led by increasing certainty of higher US borrowing costs.

"FIIs were not active in the market due to the surge in US dollar index led by increasing certainty of Fed rate hike. As expected, ECB maintained status quo and ruled out possibility of sudden end in QE which provided breather to the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Fin Services.

The 30-share index stayed in the negative zone for the most part. But some fag-end value buying meant it recovered a bit before closing at 28,077.18, down 52.66 points, or 0.19 per cent.

The broader Nifty also succumbed to the pressure before recovering to close lower by 6.35 points, or 0.07 per cent at 8,693.05.

A mixed trend prevailed in rest of Asia following an earthquake in western Japan, which weighed on equities. Hong Kong markets were shut due to a typhoon.

In contrast, broader markets were in a better shape, with the mid-cap and small-cap indices closing higher by 0.31 per cent and 0.10 per cent, respectively.

Brokers said selling by funds as well as retailers gathered momentum after Reliance Industries yesterday reported a 23 per cent drop in its second quarter consolidated net profit, which had a bearing on stock movement.

RIL shares fell 2.21 per cent to Rs 1,064.40 after the consolidated net profit in July-September came in at Rs 7,206 crore, 22.9 per cent lower than Rs 9,345 crore in the same period a year ago.

Shares of cement maker ACC plunged 3.10 per cent to Rs 1,562.05 after the company said its consolidated net profit fell 29 per cent to Rs 81.97 crore for the September quarter.

Sectorwise, the BSE consumer durables index fell by 1.70 per cent and metal index shed 0.62 per cent. Realty gained the most by surging 0.86 per cent followed by IT 0.69 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 7.30 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

Globally, a mixed trend emerged in other Asian bourses, helping key indices on the domestic bourses trim their losses, the brokers added.

Japan's Nikkei came off six-month highs by falling 0.30 per cent after the quake while Shanghai Composite rose 0.21 per cent.

In Europe, most indices rose in their early deals after the European Central Bank quashed talks regarding its future monetary policy. Key indices in France, Germany and London rose between 0.04 per cent and 0.12 per cent. .