Markets make somber start; Nifty breaches 9,400 mark

Indian equity benchmarks have made a dismal start on Tuesday and are trading with a cut of over half a percent, with Nifty breaching its crucial 9,400 mark, as traders remained concerned with a suspected terrorist attack in UK where 19 people have been killed. Traders failed to get any sense of relief with a new survey by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) showing that the outlook towards the financial condition of the country has taken a positive turn during the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal. The CII-IBA Financial Conditions Index stood at 56.9 for first quarter of 2017-18, as compared to 48 during the previous quarter.

On the global front, the Asian markets were exhibiting mixed trend at this point of time and some of the indices in the region were trading in red, as investors took a cautious approach amid the latest reports on the Trump administration and a suspected terrorist attack in the UK. The US markets moved further high albeit modestly, trading activity remained somewhat subdued with a lack of major US economic data.

Back home, selling was both brutal and wide-based as none of sectoral indices on BSE, barring IT, were spared. Counters, which featured in the list of worst performers, include realty, healthcare and utilities. The broader indices too were reeling under deep pressure, while the market breadth on the BSE was negative; there were 236 shares on the gaining side against 1,876 shares on the losing side while 53 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 30401.32, down by 169.65 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 30389.16 and 30610.64. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 2.47%, while Small cap index was down by 2.97%.

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE IT was up by 0.09%, while Realty down by 3.33%, Healthcare down by 3.04%, Utilities down by 2.86%, Power down by 2.50% and PSU was down by 2.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.04%, HDFC up by 1.02%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.92%, Wipro up by 0.80% and TCS up by 0.58%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 6.19%, Sun Pharma down by 5.44%, Cipla down by 3.18%, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone down by 2.84% and SBI down by 1.95% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, allaying fears of the IT sector on the contentious visa issue, the Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the number of H-1B visas for Indian IT professionals in United States will not come down. She also said that US wanted to correct the lottery process with a more merit-based immigration policy.

On changes in the selection process for H-1B visa (non-immigrant, short-term work visas), the Minister hoped that where the high skill set is required, US would look for that, rather than for first-time graduates. She pointed out that the selection process will be more stringent but the number of visas issued will remain unchanged.  She noted that only 17% of total US visas are given to Indian companies and added that a number of American firms benefit from services provided by Indian firms.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump in April had signed an executive order for tightening the H-1B visa programme to stop its ‘abuse’ and ensure the visas are given to the ‘most- skilled or highest paid’ petitioners, a decision that is seen to impact India's $150 billion IT industry. The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9384.35, down by 53.90 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 9374.70 and 9448.05. There were 13 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.10%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.01%, HDFC up by 0.91%, HCL Tech up by 0.87% and Wipro up by 0.71%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 5.82%, Sun Pharma down by 5.33%, Aurobindo Pharma down by 5.07%, Cipla down by 3.10% and Indiabulls Housing down by 3.09% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Jakarta Composite rose 2 points or 0.03% to 5,751.45, KOSPI Index surged 21.62 points or 0.94% to 2,325.65, Taiwan Weighted increased 26.3 points or 0.26% to 10,023.56 and Hang Seng was up by 70.09 points or 0.28% to 25,461.43.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 15.27 points or 0.08% to 19,663.01, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI shed 3.84 points or 0.22% to 1,771.11 and Shanghai Composite was down by 3.01 points or 0.1% to 3,072.67.