Markets remain under pressure on weak global cues

Indian equity benchmarks remained under pressure in late morning session, on the back of sustained selling by investors owing to muted earnings by some corporates. A weak trend in other Asian markets following weak Wall Street numbers on worries over tensions between the US and North Korea, also dampened the sentiments. Besides, capital market regulator SEBI directed exchanges to initiate action against 331 suspected shell companies, continued to weigh. Investors paid no heed towards Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar’s statement that the implementation of GST has brought down overall tax burden on the economy. Meanwhile, the government’s expenditure went up 27 percent in April-June of the current fiscal to over Rs 6.50 lakh crore as a result of Budget advancement by a month to February 1.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red, as investors piled into havens such as US Treasuries, gold and the yen as tensions on the Korean peninsula escalated, with Pyongyang saying it is considering plans to attack Guam. Back home, in scrip specific development, Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) gained after the company received an approval for issuance of Non-convertible Debentures up to an amount aggregating to Rs 5,000 crore on private placement basis. The board of directors at its meeting held on August 8, 2017 has approved for the same. The board also approved for issuance of further securities for an amount not exceeding Rs 5,000 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31877.93, down by 136.26 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 31843.45 and 31965.40. There were 8 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.63%, while Small cap index was down by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.68%, Metal up by 0.67%, Utilities up by 0.54%, Oil & Gas up by 0.43% and Consumer Durables up by 0.42% while, Healthcare down by 1.95%, FMCG down by 0.75%, Industrials down by 0.73%, Auto down by 0.71% and Bankex down by 0.56% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.72%, SBI up by 0.72%, Reliance Industries up by 0.51%, TCS up by 0.47% and Infosys up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.06%, Tata Motors down by 2.09%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.84%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.79% and Cipla down by 1.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, sticking to its ‘normal’ monsoon forecast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the country's national weather forecaster, has said that rainfall over the country during the second half of the monsoon season (August and September) is expected to be 100% of the benchmark long period average (LPA) with a model error of plus or minus 8%. It also identified that the rainfall during August is likely to be 99% of LPA with a model error of plus or minus 9%. It noted that rainfall in a range of 96-104 percent of LPA is treated as ‘normal’ for the season, while anything beyond 110% of the LPA is considered as ‘excess’.

However, the Met department has recorded an overall deficiency of minus 3% from June 1 to August 7 following which several parts of the country are witnessing drought-like conditions, especially in the southern peninsula. On the other hand, it said that states like Gujarat, Rajasthan and several parts of the northeast have witnessed floods. In its June forecast, IMD had revised monsoon forecast from 96% to 98%, citing a weakening of the El-Nino phenomenon, which heats up the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The weather body further said that the atmospheric conditions over the Pacific Ocean continue to reflect neutral El-Nino conditions. It indicated that neutral ENSO (El-Nino-Southern Oscillation) conditions are most likely till 2018 spring season with high probability (80-90%) till end of 2017. It also stated that the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions are also neutral which is good sign for the remaining two months. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9943.00, down by 35.55 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 9925.90 and 9969.80. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 1.99%, Hindalco up by 1.79%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 1.74%, Vedanta up by 1.31% and SBI up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Aurobindo Pharma down by 3.44%, Sun Pharma down by 2.92%, Cipla down by 1.80%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.75% and Tata Motors down by 1.71% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 288.03 points or 1.44% to 19,707.98, Hang Seng decreased 163.09 points or 0.59% to 27,691.82, Taiwan Weighted decreased 98.59 points or 0.93% to 10,470.38, KOSPI Index decreased 28.1 points or 1.17% to 2,366.63, Shanghai Composite decreased 5.58 points or 0.17% to 3,276.29, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 3.66 points or 0.21% to 1,777.99 and Jakarta Composite decreased 3.3 points or 0.06% to 5,807.26.