Post Session: Quick Review

Tuesday turned out to be a disappointing session of trade for Indian equity benchmarks where frontline gauges ended the session with a cut of over half a percent as concerns in China continue to haunt. Markets soon after a positive start entered into red terrain and the indices even went on to test important psychological 24,600 (Sensex) and 7,500 (Nifty) levels, but the key gauges got some support near those intraday low levels as they trimmed their some of their losses from thereon as investors continued hunt for fundamentally strong stocks. Market participants opted to remain on sidelines ahead of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for November and CPI Inflation data to be released later in the day. The consumer inflation is expected to edge up to an annualised 5.6 per cent, which would likely prevent the central bank for cutting interest rates further for now. Investors were also eagerly waiting for quarterly earnings of IT major TCS to be released later today.

Traders failed to get any sense of relief with Moody’s report stating that India’s market outlook for this year will be dependent on consumption demands, corporate earnings and inflation trends. The agency though expects the country to be the world’s fastest growing major economy this year, it believes that the market trends will depend on whether inflation remains under control and corporate profits revive.

On the global front, European markets opened lower but quickly turned higher on Tuesday despite continued wariness in Asian markets regarding China and as the oil price traded just above $30 per barrel. Asian markets ended mostly in red, though some of them made smart recovery with Chinese stock market ending higher at the open and China’s yuan stabilising for the third-straight day.

Back home, sentiments remained dampened on report that foreign investors sold shares worth Rs. 1,319.24 crore yesterday as per provisional data. Depreciation in Indian rupee too weighed down sentiments. The rupee surrendered its initial gains and was trading lower by 10 paise at 66.91 per dollar at the time of equity markets closing on fresh bouts of demand for the American currency from importers and banks amid volatile domestic equities.

Energy stocks remained under pressure after crude oil prices hit near 12 years low on oversupply glut. Auto counter too witnessed selling despite report that passenger vehicle sales in December grew in double digits for the third month in a row, posting the highest ever volumes in December ever. Industry body SIAM data though has shown that two-wheeler sales were disappointing, dragged down by motorcycle sales into negative territory. Aviation stocks, however, defied the downtrend and rose on falling crude prices.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index -- Nifty -- declined by over fifty points to end below the psychological 7,550 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex -- dropped by over one hundred and forty points to finish above the psychological 24,700 mark. Broader markets too traded under pressure and ended the session with a cut of around a percent.

The market breadth remained in the favour off decliners, as there were 942 shares on the gaining side against 1,847 shares on the losing side while 165 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 24682.03, down by 143.01 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 24597.11 and 24882.30. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.94%, while Small cap index down by 1.03%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.14% and Healthcare up by 0.07%, while, Telecom down by 1.93%, Bankex down by 1.76%, Realty down by 1.51%, Finance down by 1.46%, Materials down by 1.19% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.72%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.71%, Wipro up by 1.66%, Adani Ports &Special up by 1.28% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.87%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.48%, TCS down by 2.20%, Tata Steel down by 2.14%, SBI down by 2.06% and ONGC down by 1.92% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, rating agency Moody’s had said that India’s market outlook for this year will depend on consumption demands, corporate earnings and inflation trends. While maintaining that it expects the country to be the world’s fastest growing major economy this year, it expects that the market trends will depend on whether inflation remains under control and corporate profits revive.

Moody’s further stated that “India enters 2016 on the cusp of a cyclical growth recovery, with inflation under control and the economy benefiting from lower commodity prices.” Notifying that these reasons  place the country at an advantage relative to many similarly rated emerging market peers, Moody’s said that it believes that these advantages will only yield sustainable growth acceleration once corporate and bank balance sheets are repaired, and if the private sector remains internationally competitive.

Additionally, Moody’s said that inflation and corporate profit trends will offer clues as to whether these efforts have created conditions for growth that are sustainable over the next three to four years. While quoting a projection of a boost in consumption following the pay revision for Central government employees and pensioners and a potential upturn in farm, which is expected to boost rural demand, it said that a broad based pick up in investment will only unfold with a lag.

The CNX Nifty ended at 7510.30, down by 53.55 points or 0.71% after trading in a range of 7487.80 and 7588.30. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.54%, Wipro up by 2.13%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.66%, Adani Ports &Special up by 1.09% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Bank of Baroda down by 3.31%, PNB down by 3.16%, Yes Bank down by 3.10%, Idea Cellular down by 3.04% and Hindalco down by 2.95% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 43.69 points or 0.74% to 5,915.52, France’s CAC surged 59.01 points or 1.37% to 4,371.75 and Germany’s DAX was up by 178.45 points or 1.82% to 10,003.52.

Asian equity markets ended mostly in red on Tuesday in cautious trading, as oil took another tumble and Chinese stocks seesawed before the release of trade data on Wednesday, which is expected to show further declines in both exports and imports. Worries about the Beijing's ability to manage financial markets coupled with deepening fears about a protracted slowdown in the world's second largest economy, fueling volatility in Asian markets. After oscillating between gains and losses, Chinese shares closed higher as the central bank stepped up efforts to stabilize yuan and China's State Council reportedly established a new working group to coordinate between financial and economic regulators. Japanese shares fell sharply to wipe out all of their 2015 gains on speculation the government may raise sales tax next year unless a serious situation prevails. A fresh rout in oil prices and China-related worries also sapped investors' appetite for risk as trading resumed following Monday's public holiday. Hong Kong shares finished down as technology and financial shares weighed, and following a sharp rise in Hong Kong short-term borrowing costs over the last two days.