Sensex, Nifty continue to trade lower; PSU stocks fall

Key Indian benchmarks remained sluggish in late afternoon session, tracking weak opening of European markets. In line with the larger peers, the broader markets too were trading lackluster, with BSE Mid cap index falling more than half a percent. Besides, heavy selling pressure along with losses led by the major industry losers such as Yes Bank, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel, also kept the market sentiments down in late noon deals. Traders remained pessimistic with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Christine Lagarde’s statement that India is unlikely to carry on same speed of major economic reforms in an election year. Meanwhile, all India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), representing the banking industry said that concrete action is required by the Reserve Bank to address the cash crunch and warned of a protest on the issue.

However, markets pared some of their losses, as the Global Findex Report, 2017 released by the World Bank noted the rapid increase in financial inclusion that has taken place in India. The report lists how the number of account holders in the country has risen from 35 percent of the adults in 2011 and 53 percent in 2014 to 80 percent in 2017. Some relief also come with a private report stating that India has been recording the highest growth rate amongst the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economies.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as investors monitored a fresh batch of corporate earnings and economic data. On the data front, flash euro area consumer confidence data for April are due to be published at around 3 p.m. London time. Asian markets were also trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Prakash Constrowell traded jubilantly after the company has been declared L-1 (lowest) bidder by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for the new project Dumpsite Reclamation at Mulund Dumping Ground (MDG) in Mumbai by adopting suitable technology for existing garbage dump on April 18, 2018, with a project cost of Rs 585 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34407.17, down by 20.12 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 34311.29 and 34453.71. There were 11 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.55%, while Small cap index was down by 0.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 5.07%, TECK up by 4.12%, Telecom up by 0.64%, FMCG up by 0.32% and Consumer Durables up by 0.02%, while PSU down by 1.26%, Bankex down by 1.26%, Energy down by 1.19%, Utilities down by 1.16% and Metal down by 1.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 6.41%, Infosys up by 4.84%, Wipro up by 2.33%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.48% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.41%, ICICI Bank down by 2.54%, SBI down by 2.40%, Tata Steel down by 2.10% and Reliance Industries down by 1.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing need for more reform measures in the banking sector or in other sectors, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Christine Lagarde has said that India is unlikely to carry on same speed of major economic reforms in an election year. However, she noted that the country has started to implement major reforms that the IMF had recommended and advocated for a long time.

Lagarde further appreciated the recently implemented reform measures such as Goods and Service Tax (GST) and the bankruptcy law, highlighting that they are good reforms. She also said that these reforms will help the country to reap the benefit of the upswing, continue to develop its internal markets and generate this excellent growth rate of 7.4 per cent, which is one of the highest in the emerging market economies.

Few days before, acknowledging structural reforms undertaken by the government in recent years, the IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) had maintained its forecast for India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 7.4 per cent for 2018 and 7.8 per cent for 2019.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10556.20, down by 9.10 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 10527.45 and 10564.00. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 6.39%, Tech Mahindra up by 5.64%, Infosys up by 4.91%, HCL Tech. up by 4.89% and Wipro up by 2.17%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.64%, ICICI Bank down by 2.71%, GAIL India down by 2.58%, Tata Steel down by 2.56% and SBI down by 2.38% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 290.11 points or 0.94% to 30,418.33, Taiwan Weighted plunged by 191.84 points or 1.75% to 10,779.38, Shanghai Composite dipped 45.83 points or 1.47% to 3,071.54, Jakarta Composite decreased 32.79 points or 0.52% to 6,323.11, Nikkei 225 decreased 28.94 points or 0.13% to 22,162.24, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 10.01 points or 0.53% to 1,885.17 and KOSPI Index was down by 9.77 points or 0.39% to 2,476.33.

European Markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX was down by 11.16 points or 0.09% to 12,556.26 and France’s CAC decreased 1.25 points or 0.02% to 5,390.39. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 27.35 points or 0.37% to 7,356.27.