Karnataka politics, oil prices depress equity market

Mumbai: Formation of a non-BJP government in Karnataka, along with weakness in global indices and rising crude oil prices, pulled the key Indian equity indices to close in the negative territory for the fifth consecutive session on Monday.

According to market observers, automobile, consumer durables and healthcare stocks slumped during the day's trade.

After opening on a flat note, the indices traded higher during the early hours in the day but were unable to hold on to the gains for long.

At 3.30 p.m., the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) provincially closed at 10,516.70 points, down 79.70 points or 0.75 per cent from the previous close of 10,596.40 points.

Similarly, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE settled in the red. It had opened at 34,873.16 points, closed at 34,616.13 points (3.30 p.m.) -- down 232.17 points or 0.67 per cent -- from its previous session's close of 34,848.30 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 34,973.95 and a low of 34,593.82 points. The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,969 declines against 680 advances.

The major gainers on the BSE were State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Coal India, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank, while Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy's Lab, Yes Bank, Tata Motors and Tata Motors (DVR) were the major losers.

On the NSE, the top gainers were SBI, BPCL and Coal India. The major losers were Dr Reddy's Lab, Sun Pharma and UPL.