Weakness persisted on the bourses in mid-morning trade as pivotals remained gripped in selling pressure. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 211.46 points or 0.59% at 35,922.85. The Nifty 50 index was down 79.60 points or 0.73% at 10,789.90. Metal and mining stocks dropped.
Domestic stocks edged lower in early trade as key index pivotals dropped. Key benchmark indices traded with weakness in morning trade after a subdued start to the day's trading session.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.14%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 1.07%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 620 shares rose and 1498 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.
Back home, metal and mining stocks dropped. Vedanta (down 3.23%), JSW Steel (down 3.03%), Tata Steel (down 2.75%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (down 3.87%), National Aluminium Company (down 2.94%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.56%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 5.87%), Hindalco Industries (down 3.58%), NMDC (down 2.99%) and Hindustan Copper (down 1.95%) edged lower.
Oil India (OIL) lost 1.55%. Oil India successfully commissioned the cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) technology in the well BGW - 8 in Baghewala PML of Rajasthan for extraction of heavy crude oil for the first time in India. The project was commissioned under the guidance of Dr. John Belgrave of Mis Belgrave Oil & Gas Corporation, a Canada based consulting agency. As part of the pilot project, CSS will be implemented in 2 (two) more wells followed by field scale implementation and will also be applied to assess the potential of other similar reservoirs. This technique will ensure enhancement of production from this field. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 December 2018.
Hinduja Global Solutions rose 2.88%. Hinduja Global Solutions announced that it will be creating up to 150 brand new permanent jobs and investing into its site in Selkirk (UK) over the course of 2019. The company has purchased the site from its lease holder, has recruited a new management team and is about to embark on a 12-month site-investment programme giving further security to the 265 existing employees based there. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 December 2018.