Sensex drops over 150 points on weak macro cues

The BSE Sensex ended over 150 points lower Monday on heavy selloff by foreign investors after industrial output growth data dropped to a 17-month low.

After a volatile session, the 30-share index settled 156.28 points, or 0.43 per cent, down at 35,853.56, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 57.35 points, or 0.53 per cent, to finish at 10,737.60.

The fall was led by L&T, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, NTPC, TCS, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel and SBI, declining up to 2.64 per cent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank was the biggest gainer on Sensex, rallying up to 6.22 per cent, on reports that the lender had shortlisted its executive Rajat Monga and a CEO of a foreign bank to succeed long-serving Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rana Kapoor.

Infosys was also among the top gainers, rising 2.58 per cent, after the company, Friday said it will buy back shares worth up to Rs 8,260 crore and offer shareholders a special dividend of Rs 4 per share as part of the company's Rs 13,000 crore-capital allocation policy.

Other gainers include Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and Tata Motors, rising up to 1.68 per cent.

According to experts, overall investor sentiment was weak after the government on Friday released the industrial output growth numbers, which dropped to a 17-month low of 0.5 per cent in November on account of contraction in the manufacturing sector, particularly consumer and capital goods.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 687.20 crore Friday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 123.17 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

On the macro front, the rupee depreciated 32 paise to 70.81 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures were trading 1.49 per cent lower at $59.58 per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea's Kospi fell 0.53 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.71 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.38 per cent. While Japan's Nikkei jumped 0.97 per cent.

In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX was down 0.55 per cent, Paris CAC 40 fell 0.77 per cent, and London's FTSE shed 0.73 per cent.