Markets make a weak start in sync with global slump

Indian markets have made a weak start on Monday morning, in sync with the decline in the global equity markets. Sensex was just trying to hold the 25500 level with cut of over a 100 points, while the Nifty continue to trade below the 7500 mark since opening. Equity markets across the globe are reacting to the deadly terror attacks in Paris over the weekend that killed 121 people and wounded 352 others. Back home, markets showed some recovery attempts but they were sold out and apart from the bluechips, the broader markets too were witnessing selling pressure. Weakness in rupee which dropped in early trade against the US dollar in line with most Asian currencies, too was weighing down the sentiments. Prime Minister Narendra Midi’s statement that FDI into India has increased by 40 percent since last year, showing the increasing global confidence in the country, too was unable to support the markets. Traders are now eyeing wholesale price index (WPI) data for October, slated to be announced later in the day, for further cues. State run oil marketing companies were showing modest upmove in early deals after they raised the price of petrol by 36 paise a litre and diesel by 87 paise a litre to align with firming global prices.

In scrip specific action, Bharti Airtel was trading in green, as the company plans to raise up to £500 million (about Rs 5,030 crore) through its first bond issue in the British currency and use the proceeds to refinance its current debt.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25485.90, down by 124.63 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 25470.20 and 25593.11. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices too were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.40%, while Small cap index declined by 0.28%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.24%, Bankex up by 0.07%, while IT down by 1.60%, Metal down by 1.36%, TECK down by 1.35%, Realty down by 0.73%, PSU down by 0.72% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.75%, ITC up by 1.40%, Reliance Industries up by 0.45%, ICICI Bank up by 0.34% and SBI up by 0.33%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.58%, Coal India down by 2.38%, ONGC down by 1.92%, HDFC down by 1.40% and Tata Motors down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, government has reiterated its commitment towards improving the condition of continuously declining exports. The Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government is taking steps to increase India's total exports to $ 900 billion by 2020. Though, the target seems ambitious, with the country's exports continuing to be in the negative zone since December last year and contracting for the 10th month in a row, dipping 24.33% in September to $21.84 billion.

The minister said that the government is taking steps 'to facilitate 'Make in India' and therefore the exports. Every step that we are taking is towards achieving the target set by the Foreign Trade Policy.'

Sitharaman also said that India has an advantage in terms of young population and low cost of production as compared to China, which is becoming a costlier place to produce. She further said that China's population is moving towards retirement...There is a structural adjustment which is happening in China, that is, moving from an export led kind of an economy to a consumer led economy. “A lot of manufacturers are getting out of China because it’s no longer the place to be in and on the contrary, we have an advantage in terms of young population and cost of production being far lesser and therefore we will be able to attract a lot of manufacturers into India.”

In the start of the fiscal, the government had announced a slew of incentives and new institutional mechanisms as part of the new Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020) to nearly double country's goods and services exports to $900 billion by 2019-2020.India exports goods worth around $300 billion per fiscal year, while services exports amounted to around $150 billion annually. India had a trade deficit of about $48 billion in 2014-15.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7721.40, down by 40.85 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 7720.45 and 7749.45. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.63%, ITC up by 1.17%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.07%, Adani Ports &Special up by 0.56% and Asian Paints up by 0.44%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.54%, Coal India down by 2.43%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.93%, ONGC down by 1.92% and ACC down by 1.59% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in red, Hang Seng lost 364.98 points or 1.63% to 22,031.16, Nikkei 225 slumped by 197.38 points or 1.01% to 19,399.53, Jakarta Composite was down by 45.05 points or 1.01% to 4,427.79, Taiwan Weighted declined by 30.92 points or 0.37% to 8,298.58, KOSPI Index decreased by 25.09 points or 1.27% to 1,948.20, Shanghai Composite was lower by 18.29 points or 0.51% to 3,562.54 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was tad lower by 1.62 points or 0.1% to 1,657.29.