INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MUMBAI: A twist in the ongoing political battle in Karnataka dragged down the stock market on Friday, already fretting over the impact of
weakening rupee and firm crude prices on the economy
The Sensex closed below 35,000 and the Nifty pierced the 10,600-mark on Friday as traders rushed to cut positions ahead of the floor test in
the Karnataka assembly on Saturday that will decide the government in the state
The rupee dropped further against the dollar, while the bonds ended higher in volatile trade.
Sensex declined 300.82 points, or 0.9%, to
close at 34,848.30 while Nifty fell 86.30 points, or 0.8%, to end at 10,596.40
LT was the worst performer on Sensex, ending down 3.5%
ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki India, Wipro and Tata Motors fell 2-3%
Barring FMCG index, most sector indices on NSE ended down.
The rupee lost nearly half a percent to the dollar on Friday as higher oil prices
and rising US treasury yields spooked overseas investors and domestic importers
said Param Sharma, chief executive at NSP Forex, a Mumbai-based firm
dollar.
Brent crude prices had on Thursday topped the $80 per barrel for the first time since 2014 on concerns that Iranian exports could
fall because of renewed US sanctions, reducing supply in an already tightening market
Kong-headquartered CLSA in his widely read weekly newsletter Greed Fear said that rising oil price remains a key risk to Indian equities
of Indian equities of late, selling a net $1.36 billion worth of Indian equities since the beginning of April, even though the Sensex is up
institutions bought shares worth ?149.58 crore, provisional data showed
FPIs have sold shares in most of the sessions during May, worth about ?4,100 crore.
Wood believes that it is premature to focus on Indian
Wood.
The bond market witnessed volatile trading on Friday
The benchmark yield dipped as much as 12 basis points amid speculation of new government measures
