India’s benchmark stock indices declined by midday on Monday, snapping six days of gains as Reliance Industries Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. dragged. The PSU bank, realty and auto sectors were up in trade, whereas energy and consumer durables were under pressure.
Most stock gauges in Asia advanced at the start of a week packed with major central bank policy decisions, with Chinese equities lagging as traders held out for signs of more policy support. Japanese stocks rose, boosted by a report late Friday that said the Bank of Japan’s officials see little urgent need to address the side effects of their ultra-loose monetary policy.
Hong Kong and Chinese stocks declined. Chinese shares notched their worst week in four on Friday, despite a series of vows from Beijing to boost consumption and businesses.
Contracts for European shares fell and those for U.S. stocks were largely steady in Asia on Monday after the S&P 500 closed little changed on Friday and the Nasdaq 100 saw continued selling in technology companies following a disappointing batch of results.
As of 12:13 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex fell 181 points, or 0.27%, to 66,503.26, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 48 points, or 0.24%, to 19,697.20.
TCS Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., and Bajaj Finserv Ltd. were positively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50 Index.
Whereas Reliance Industries Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. weighed on the index.
The broader market indices outperformed their larger peers, with the S&P BSE MidCap gaining 0.30% and the S&P BSE SmallCap rising 0.19% through midday trade on Monday.
Nine out of the 19 sectors compiled by BSE Ltd. declined, while 10 sectors advanced. S&P BSE Bankex fell the most.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. About 1,832 stocks rose, 1,681 declined, and 185 remained unchanged on the BSE.