Post Session: Quick Review

Thursday turned out to be a complete carnage session for the Indian equity indices which got pounded by around three and half a percentage points, after Fed chair Janet Yellen kept options open for more US rate hikes. Yellen told Congress she does not expect to reverse the rate hike programme that began in December but said she saw risks to the US economy. After a negative opening, the domestic bourses never looked in recovery mood and ended the trade at intraday lows, breaching their crucial support levels of 23,000 (Sensex) and 7,000 (Nifty). Selling was both brutal and wide-based as none of sectoral indices on BSE could manage a green close. Counters which featured in the list of worst performers included realty, power, utilities and industrials.

Sentiments remained dampened since morning with the report that foreign investors have sold $1.9 billion in Indian shares so far this year. Further. sentiments got undermined with the report that India continues to report over 7 per cent GDP growth, but its momentum has weakened and the country's growth is well ‘below trend’. According to the report, India's GDP and gross value added (GVA) grew by 7.3 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively in October-December 2015, reflecting a slowing growth momentum from the first half of this fiscal.

Selling got intensified after European counters have made an awful start on Thursday, with major counters declining around there percent, led down by a renewed drop in banks and miners, with Societe Generale and Rio Tinto both under pressure after disappointing with their latest results. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slumped around four percent today leading another sell-off across Asian markets and extending a global rout. However, financial markets in China and Japan were closed today for public holidays.

Back home, sentiments weighed down after rupee breached the 68-mark as it fell by 33 paise against the greenback at the time of equity markets closing as demand for dollar from banks and importers gathered pace. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 751.33 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Stocks related to banking counter played spoil sport for the markets. SBI gave up earlier gains to end with a cut of around three percent and hit its lowest since March 2014 after reporting a worse-than-expected 62 percent fall in quarterly profit, although its bad loans rose less than forecast. 

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty tumbled by around two hundred and forty points to end below the psychological 7,000 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex crashed by over eight hundred points to finish below its psychological 23,000 mark. Broader markets too witnessed bloodbath and ended the session with a huge cut of around four percentage points.

The market breadth remained in favor of decliners, as there were 332 shares on the gaining side against 2,351 shares on the losing side while 96 shares remain unchanged.  (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 22951.83, down by 807.07 points or 3.40% after trading in a range of 22909.12 and 23758.46. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 3.27%, while Small cap index down by 4.64%. (Provisional)

The losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 5.94%, Utilities down by 4.89%, Power down by 4.81%, Industrials down by 4.53% and Finance down by 3.97%, while there were no gainers on the index. (Provisional)

The only gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 0.68% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.13%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 7.01%, BHEL down by 6.01%, ONGC down by 5.91%, Adani Ports &Special down by 5.58% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 5.42% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, With an aim to remove the biggest impediment of the country, Road Transport Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the government is to offer affordable houses below Rs 5 lakh at a time when only one per cent of India's population can afford a house above Rs 10 lakh. He said apart from focus on building smart cities, providing affordable houses to the poorest of the poor also tops the agenda of the government.

The Minister further said that the government will provide construction cost Rs 450 square feet for house in Rs 5 lakh. Besides, a subsidy of Rs 1.5 lakh would be given on the houses and after that the cost of the house will be Rs 3.5 lakh and loan will be available for 7 to 7.5 per cent interest rate. Further, the government are installing solar system in that besides furniture including bed made of fly ash.

Highlighting one of the ventures, Gadkari said an experiment has been done in Nagpur to construct a house on steel structure using 70 per cent fly ash, which will be inaugurated on February 20. Moreover, speaking about the smart cities project, he said the government will not only make smart cities but is also committed to developing the existing cities as per the modern-day requirements. Ten out of 12 major ports will have smart cities.

The CNX Nifty ended at 6976.35, down by 239.35 points or 3.32% after trading in a range of 6959.95 and 7208.65. There were 3 stocks advancing against 47 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The few gainers on Nifty were Idea Cellular up by 1.10%, Cipla up by 0.42% and Dr. Reddys Lab up by 0.01%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & Special down by 7.89%, Vedanta down by 7.36%, BHEL down by 6.05%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 5.75% and Tata Motors down by 5.21% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; Germany’s DAX tumbled 295.76 points or 3.28% to 8,721.53, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 164.52 points or 2.9% to 5,507.78 and France’s CAC was down by 163.2 points or 4.02% to 3,898.00.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday, led by sharp drops in Hong Kong and South Korea, which were catching up to global market turmoil after being shut for Lunar New Year holidays. Investor sentiment remained shaky as the oil price recovery proved short lived and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen warned the US economy is facing risks from tightening domestic financial conditions as well as global economic turmoil. She was non-committal on taking a pause in plans to raise interest rates despite emerging headwinds. The markets in China and Taiwan remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, while Japan was shut for the National Foundation Day.