Markets succumb to late sell-off, metal, energy stocks sink

State-owned oil companies such as HPCL, BPCL, IOC, ONGC and OIL plunged on worries that the government may ask them to share the burden of higher petrol and diesel prices.

Metal stocks were the session's worst performers, led by Vedanta which lost 6.23 per cent after protests against its copper plant in Tuticorin turned violent, leading to nine deaths.

A weakening rupee and lacklustre fourth quarter results further weighed on sentiment, brokers said.

On the global front, markets were caught off-guard after US President Donald Trump cast doubts over the proposed summit with North Korea and also expressed dissatisfaction with last week's trade talks with China.

The 30-share BSE Sensex, which opened higher at 34,656.63, witnessed selling pressure in afternoon trade. The sell-off suddenly picked up pace towards the end of the session, leading the index to the day's low of 34,302.89. The benchmark finally ended at 34,344.91 -- showing a loss of 306.33 points, or 0.88 per cent.

This is its weakest closing since April 19, when the gauge had finished at 34,427.29.

Likewise, the 50-stock NSE barometer Nifty finished at 10,430.35, down 106.35 points, or 1.01 per cent. Intra-day, it shuttled between 10,417.80 and 10,533.55.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,651.63 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 1,496.83 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

"Market edged lower amid pessimism on global trade talks and below par fourth quarter earnings. Metals sank while PSU bank outperformed and prevented the market from a nosedive correction. Investors expect that the worst is over related to PSU banks NPAs with adequate provisions and expectation of recapitalisation from government.

"On the other hand, rupee continued to fall and the fear of inflationary pressure may lead the market to consolidate," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Among Sensex components, Tata Steel topped the losers' list by falling 6.57 per cent, followed by ONGC at 4.75 per cent.

Other losers were IndusInd Bank 2.80 per cent, ITC Ltd 1.92 per cent, Adani Ports 1.80 per cent, RIL 1.58 per cent, HDFC Ltd 1.43 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.41 per cent, Bajaj Auto 1.26 per cent, HDFC Bank 1.22 per cent, Kotak Bank 1.14 per cent, Coal India 0.95 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 0.78 per cent, Infosys 0.70 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 0.68 per cent, Wipro 0.68 per cent, HUL 0.66 per cent, Axis Bank 0.56 per cent, Asian Paints 0.55 per cent, TCS 0.31 per cent, Sun Pharma 0.23 per cent and Yes Bank 0.06 per cent.

However, SBI emerged as the top gainer, spurting 3.56 per cent, followed by NPTC 0.82 per cent, L&T 0.55 per cent, Tata Motors 0.49 per cent and M&M 0.05 per cent.

Sector-wise, metal index tumbled 3.93 per cent, oil and gas 3.45 per cent, realty 1.26 per cent, infrastructure 1.06 per cent, PSU 0.96 per cent, FMCG 0.71 per cent, auto 0.54 per cent, teck 0.48 per cent, healthcare 0.37 per cent, bankex 0.31 per cent, IT 0.20 per cent and power 0.08 per cent.

The broader markets too displayed a weak trend, with the small-cap index falling 0.47 per cent and mid-cap index shedding 0.24 per cent.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.18 per cent, China's Shanghai Composite index lost 1.41 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 1.82 per cent.

European shares were down as well, with Frankfurt's DAX declining 1.47 per cent and Paris CAC 40 losing 1.04 per cent in early trade. London's FTSE too fell 0.65 per cent.