MUMBAI: A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was trading in the red - down 193 points or 0.71 percent in the post-afternoon trade session Monday, as stocks like metal, capital goods plunged.
Investor sentiment was down after Friday's industrial activity data, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was below expectations. It only grew 0.5 percent in the month of July over the same month of the previous year.
India's retail inflation too slowed down marginally at 7.8 percent in August from 7.96 percent in the previous month.
There was also anxiety regarding global cues such as US Fed rate hike and the upcoming China factory output.
However, India's annual rate of inflation, based on official wholesale price index, gave some relief to the market as it fell to a near-five-year low of 3.74 percent for August.
The annual inflation rate stood at 5.19 percent for the previous month and 6.99 percent for August of 2013. Notably, the annual inflation rate for food articles in August fell to 5.15 percent from 19.17 percent in the like month of the previous year.
Reacting to all the above, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 26,998.07 points, was trading at 26,839.80 points (1.30 p.m.), down 221.24 points or 0.82 percent from the previous day's close at 27,061.04 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 26,998.07 points and a low of 26,813.02 points in the pre-afternoon trade session.
The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was range bound around 8,000-mark. However, it was also trading in the red. It was down 60.05 points or 0.74 percent at 8,045.45 points.
Metal, capital goods, information technology (IT), oil and gas and bank stocks sustained heavy selling pressure, while healthcare and realty stocks rose.
The S&P BSE metal index was down 185.12 points, capital goods slipped by 99.14 points IT index was lower by 96.95 points, oil and gas index plunged 84.43 points and bank index lost 66.38 points. While healthcare index was up 22.94 points and realty index increased by 3.98 percent.
