INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Stock markets ended marginally lower on Thursday, as caution prevailed ahead of expiry of derivatives contracts
BSE benchmark index Sensex fell 32 points to end at 38,690 while the NSE Nifty settled at 11,676, down 15 points from the previous close
The markets were dragged lower by a selloff witnessed across banking, financial, auto and energy shares
Top laggards on the 50-scrip Nifty index included Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Petroleum, Maruti Suzuki and Eicher Motors,
Shares in private sector lenders HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank and Yes Bank, and finance majors HDFC and Indiabulls Housing Finance
the September series, according to brokers."There is obviously some profit-booking, plus the FO (futures and options) expiry today, all
those things might have led to some pause in the overall momentum," news agency Reuters cited Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research,
Motilal Oswal Securities, as saying.Thursday marked the expiry of derivatives contracts for the month of August.Heavyweight FMCG majors ITC
and Hindustan Unilever finished the day with gains of 2 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively, leading the pack of consumer staple stocks
The Nifty FMCG - the NSE's sectoral index comprising consumer goods stocks - closed 1.3 per cent higher.Brokerage Goldman Sachs began
coverage on copper and aluminium producer Vedanta with a 'buy' rating and a target price of Rs 280
Vedanta shares closed 0.8 per cent higher
The Nifty Metal settled 0.9 per cent higher.Weakness in the equities came after net sale of equities by foreign institutional investors
offset purchases by domestic institutional investors
On a net basis, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 1,114.36 crore on Wednesday while foreign portfolio
investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,415.87 crore on Wednesday, provisional data from the NSE showed.Lacklustre trade in other Asian
cent, with broad gains across the region offset by losses in China
Stocks surrendered earlier gains with Chinese markets fixed firmly on risks from the China-US trade war and taking little comfort from an
apparent easing in business tensions in North America and Europe.(With agency inputs)
