Among the sectoral indices, BSE metal index was the top sectoral loser down, 1.5%
The 30-share benchmark Sensex was trading 90 points lower, led by losses in shares of metal, oil and gas and auto companies.
Investors were cautious ahead of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due later in the day. The government will issue CPI and IIP data on 12 January after 5.30pm. A Bloomberg poll expects CPI inflation will be 5.3% for December compared with 4.38% in November while factory output will grow by 2.4% in November after contracting 4.2% in October.
At 12.12pm, the Sensex was down by 0.33%, or 92.57 points, at 27,365.81 points, while the 50-share Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was down 0.22%, or 18.35 points, at 8,266.15 points.
Among the gainers, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) that was trading up 2.8% to Rs.887.90 and Infosys Ltd that rose 1.3% to Rs.2,101.30.
Among the losers, Coal India Ltd (CIL) fell 4.3% to Rs.359.60 after news report said the government plans to sell 10% stake in the miner to raise about Rs.24,000 crore from divestment to meet its asset-sale target before the fiscal year ends in March. Bharti Airtel Ltd fell 2% to Rs.349.45.
Among the sectoral indices, BSE FMCG index was the top gainer, up 1.2% followed by BSE IT and healthcare indices which were up 0.7% and 0.6% respectively. BSE Bankex, Teck and capital goods index was up 0.5% each. BSE power and realty indices were up 0.3% each. BSE metal index was the top sectoral loser down, 1.5% followed by BSE oil and gas index which was down 1.2%. BSE auto was down 0.1%.
United Spirits Ltd rose 7.1% to Rs.3,064.60 after minority shareholders of United Spirits approved a deal to make and sell brands owned by its parent Diageo Plc, in a move that comes as a relief to the company that has been criticised by investors and analysts for its corporate governance practices.
Cairn India Ltd fell 3.3% to Rs.235 after PTI report said that promoter Anil Agarwal is mulling at merging the two cash generating units into his flagship Vedanta group firm to rival large natural resources giants Rio Tinto Plc or BHP Billiton Ltd.
LIC Housing Finance Ltd fell 1.9% to Rs.463.65 after news report said that Life insurance Corp. Ltd (LIC), India’s largest insurance company, is considering exiting from its mutual fund joint venture with Nomura Holdings Inc., and paring its stake in LIC Housing Finance.
Bajaj Corp. Ltd rose 3.8% to Rs.427.30 after the company reported 43.8% increase in its standalone net profit to Rs.41.84 crore in December quarter as compared to Rs.29.10 crore last year same quarter.
PVR Ltd rose 3.1% to Rs.739.80 after news report said that PVR may acquire SPI Cinemas Pvt. Ltd for around Rs.750 to Rs.1,000 crore.
Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd gained for the fourth consecutive session. On Monday, it gained 3.5% to Rs.58.70 after news report said that lenders to the company have chosen the corporate debt restructuring route to restructure its debt of close to Rs.7,000 crore. The stock gained 35.45% in the last four session.
So far in 2015, the Sensex has fell 0.32%, while foreign institutional investors have sold $ 351.60 million from local equity markets and bought $ 402.30 million from the debt market.
Asian markets were trading on a subdued note on Monday as oil prices continued to decline and investors digested Friday’s mixed US jobs report. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 2.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.3% and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was trading marginally higher by 0.2%.
On Friday, US markets ended lower after the latest jobs data showed that non-farm payrolls increased by 252,000 last month, slightly more than expected, while the jobless rate eased from 5.8% to 5.6%, reports Financial Times. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%, S&P 500 declined 0.8% and Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1%.
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