The Indian markets sensing the global rout declined in last session in advance, ending lower by about a percent. Today the start is likely to remain weak on feeble global cues. Also, there will be some cautiousness with the report that India’s fiscal deficit in the fiscal first quarter of the current financial year crossed the halfway mark at 56.1% of the full-year target of Rs.5.3 trillion. However, on the economic front there is an encouraging news too, adding to the increasing signs that the rebound in the industrial growth is picking up pace, the Core sector output rose at its fastest pace in nine months by 7.3% in June from a year ago. The infra stocks may see some action as the industry body Assocham has said that the new government needs to initiate a comprehensive review of policies and processes that govern infrastructure industries. The oil & gas sector too may remain buzzing after the Oil Ministry fixed the subsidy payout by upstream firms at Rs 15,546.65 crore for the April-June quarter. Also, the Petrol prices have been cut by Rs 1.09 per litre, the second reduction in three-and-half-months, while diesel rates were hiked by 56 paise a litre. The auto stocks too will be in action, as they will start announcing their monthly sales numbers.
There will be some important result announcements too, to keep the markets buzzing. Bajaj Corp, Berger Paints, Cummins India, JSW Steel, PTC India Financial Services, TTK Healthcare, Union Bank of India, State Bank of Travancore and United Spirits are among many to report their numbers today.
The US markets suffered sharp sell-off in last session on some earnings disappointments and on credit-market concerns, as the yields rose. The lingering geopolitical concerns amid the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza too weighed down the markets. The Asian markets have made a soft start tailing the overnight weakness in the US markets. Traders in the region have even ignored the report of rise in China’s manufacturing PMI in July on concern that the improving US economy may force the Fed to raise interest rates sooner than expected.
Back home, Indian equity markets truly depicted the choppiness of an F&O expiry session on Thursday and after a cautious start markets extended their southward journey to close with a cut of around a percentage point. Final hour of trade proved to be the curse for the markets and bourses settled below their crucial 25,900 (Sensex) and 7,750 (Nifty) bastions. However June series proved a strong one for the markets with benchmark indices gaining over 3% each for the series. After trading in tight band for most part of the day’s trade, domestic gauges crashed like house of card in the last leg of trade as investors offloaded their positions an hour before the end of F&O contract expiry day. Sentiments remained dampened as foreign investors sold $63.4 million worth of equities for the first time in the last ten sessions on July 30, as per provisional data released by the stock exchange. Investors also shrugged off National Statistical Commission Chairman Pronob Sen’s statement that the country’s growth can be as high as 6.5 percent in the current fiscal. He has also said that government’s economic growth projection of 5.4 percent to 5.9 percent stated in the Economic Survey is very modest. Selling got intensified as European markets turned cautious after a positive start, while Asian markets too ended mostly in the red. Back home, sentiments remained down-beat on the back of depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar as the dollar strengthened following encouraging GDP data from the US. The rupee was trading at 60.51 at the time of equity markets closing versus its previous close of 60.07. Meanwhile, slump in banking counter too played spoil sport for the Indian equity markets after government mulling to divest stake in public sector banks in November this year. Software stocks too edged lower after HCL Technologies slumped after April-June US dollar revenue growth lagged some estimates. India’s fourth largest software services firm reported a 53.7% jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 1,834 crore for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2014. On the flip side, shares of state-owned oil marketing companies such as Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and Indian Oil Corporation edged higher on talk that the government has sought fuel subsidy support from upstream oil companies for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014. Finally, the BSE Sensex plunged by 192.45 points or 0.74%, to 25894.97, while the CNX Nifty declined by 70.10 points or 0.90%, to 7,721.30.
