Markets make dismal start on weak global cues

Pressurized by weak global cues, Indian equity markets have made a dismal opening on Wednesday with key gauges breaching their crucial 29,600 (Sensex) and 9,200 (Nifty) levels. Traders remained on sidelines ahead of the macro economic data of industrial production and consumer price inflation to be released after the market hours. Moreover, market participants shrugged off Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya’s statement that he Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime should be implemented as scheduled despite all challenges as progress will take place only after we move ahead in this regard.

Feeble global cues too dampened sentiments with Asian markets trading mostly in red at this point of time, led by the Japanese market which is down by over a percent after the yen jumped to the highest since November, as investors avoided riskier assets amid lingering geopolitical concerns. The US markets closed marginally in red in the last session, though the major averages recovered from the early lows and were well off their worst levels of the day, but the mood reflected geopolitical concerns on the heels of President Donald Trump's decision to launch a missile strike at an airbase in Syria.

Back home, selling was both brutal and wide-based as none of sectoral indices on BSE were spared. Counters, which featured in the list of worst performers, include realty, industrials and utilities. The broader indices too were reeling under pressure, while the market breadth on the BSE was negative; there were 485 shares on the gaining side against 1,709 shares on the losing side while 48 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29589.05, down by 199.30 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 29549.74 and 29838.82. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 1.05%, while Small cap index was down by 1.41%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 1.56%, Industrials down by 1.56%, Utilities down by 1.47%, Power down by 1.37% and Capital Goods was down by 1.33%, while there were no gainers on the BSE sectoral front.

The only gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 0.37% and HDFC Bank was up by 0.10%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 1.96%, Tata Motors down by 1.96%, GAIL India down by 1.59%, Power Grid down by 1.58% and Maruti Suzuki was down by 1.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to monitor the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik), the government has formed an inter-ministerial committee. The panel would be responsible for coordination among stakeholders, including state governments, for 'time bound' implementation of the scheme. The scheme seeks to make flying affordable by connecting unserved and under-served airports.

According to its notification, the committee would be responsible for 'overall monitoring of the schemes of promotion of regional connectivity by way of revival of unserved and under-served airports/airstrips and RCS-UDAN'. In the flights operated under RCS, around 50 percent of the seats would have a fare cap Rs 2,500 per seat/hour.

The Inter- Ministerial Monitoring-cum-Coordination Committee, Chaired by Civil Aviation Secretary would have representations from the ministries of finance, defence, home as well as petroleum and natural gas. Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman, representatives from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) apart from officials of airlines and states concerned would also be part of the panel. If required, the panels’ chairperson can co-opt any officer or expert.

Under the UDAN scheme the Civil Aviation Ministry has already awarded 128 routes connecting 70 airports to five airlines, including SpiceJet and an Air India subsidiary. Apart from various incentives, the operators of such flights would be extended viability gap funding -- for which money is partly raised through a levy of up to Rs 8,500 on flights operating in major routes like Delhi and Mumbai. The viability gap funding would be in place for three years for the airlines concerned from the date of starting operations in a particular UDAN route. Other benefits include zero airport charges for the operators and three-year exclusivity on the routes.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9170.15, down by 66.85 points or 0.72% after trading in a range of 9161.80 and 9246.40. There were 4 stocks advancing against 47 stocks declining on the index.

The few gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 0.95%, Infosys up by 0.35%, Bharti Infratel up by 0.27% and HDFC Bank up was by 0.09%. On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 1.96%, Tata Motors down by 1.94%, Adani Ports down by 1.87%, Bank of Baroda down by 1.80% and ICICI Bank was down by 1.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 247.71 points or 1.32% to 18,500.16, Hang Seng slipped 41.99 points or 0.17% to 24,046.47, Taiwan Weighted shed 21.9 points or 0.22% to 9,810.52 and Shanghai Composite was down by 10.43 points or 0.32% to 3,278.53.

On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 1.37 points or 0.08% to 1,737.21, KOSPI Index rose 2.42 points or 0.11% to 2,126.27 and Jakarta Composite was up by 16.26 points or 0.29% to 5,644.19.