Indian bourses continue to trade under pressure

Indian bourses continued their weak trade in afternoon session, in line with Asian peers, as worries about trade tensions persisted. The mood of the markets remain impacted by report of the Reserve Bank of India stating that India’s external debt stood at $529.7 billion at the end of March 2018, recording an increase of $58.4 billion year-on-year, primarily on account of a rise in commercial borrowings, short-term debt and non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits. The market participants overlooked a private survey showing that India’s manufacturing conditions improved in June at the strongest pace in 2018 so far, as favourable demand conditions led to greater output. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to 53.1 in June from 51.2 in May. On the sectoral front, select Pharma stocks were trading higher amid report that Indian pharmaceutical market returned to double digit growth of 10.8 percent in May for the first time in over a year indicating the pangs of transitioning to the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime have been left behind. Besides, auto stocks also remained in limelight as companies report their sales number today.  In scrip specific development, Bajaj Auto jumped on registering a rise of 65% in total sales to 404,429 units in June 2018 against, 244,878 units in June 2017.

On the global front, Asian market were trading mostly in red, as investors keep an eye on trade tensions between the US and its trading partners, most notably China. Japan's Nikkei share average edged lower after a central bank survey showed manufacturers' confidence worsening amid trade tensions with Washington, although some firms found support on yen expectations.

BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35202.13, down by 221.35 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 35161.35 and 35578.24. 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 0.92%, while Small cap index was down by 0.82%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.39% and TECK up by 0.09%, while Metal down by 2.47%, Power down by 2.19%, Utilities down by 1.94%, Telecom down by 1.72% and PSU down by 1.67% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 2.04%, Asian Paints up by 1.25%, Infosys up by 0.90%, Sun Pharma up by 0.74% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.61%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 4.58%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.98%, Vedanta down by 1.91%, ONGC down by 1.83% and Yes Bank down by 1.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s external debt surged 12.24 percent to $529 billion during January-March quarter (Q4FY18) as compared to $471.3 billion reported for the corresponding period of 2017. The rise in external debt was mainly due the increase in commercial borrowings, short-term debt and non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits.

As per the data furnished by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the increase in the magnitude of external debt was partly due to valuation loss resulting from the depreciation of the US dollar against major currencies. It also noted that the external debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio stood at 20.5 percent at end-March 2018, higher than its level of 20.0 percent at end-March 2017.

The data also showed that debt service payments dropped to 7.5 percent of current receipts at end-March 2018 as compared with 8.3 percent at end-March 2017. It further highlighted that commercial borrowings with a share of 38.2% is the largest component of external debt, followed by NRI deposits with 23.8% and short-term trade credit with 19.0%.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10635.70, down by 78.60 points or 0.73% after trading in a range of 10622.60 and 10736.15. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 1.89%, Asian Paints up by 1.20%, Indusind Bank up by 1.07%, Infosys up by 0.94% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.57%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 5.07%, Hindalco down by 4.58%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 2.53%, Vedanta down by 2.31% and ONGC down by 2.11% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 492.58 points or 2.26% to 21,811.93, Taiwan Weighted declined 58.97 points or 0.55% to 10,777.94, KOSPI falls 54.59 points or 2.40% to 2,271.54, Shanghai Composite dropped 76.60 points or 2.76% to 2,770.82, Straits Times was down by 28.59 points or 0.88% to 3,240.11 and Jakarta Composite dropped 23.27 points or 0.40% to 5,775.97.

On the other side, Hang Seng was up by 457.79 points or 1.58% to 28,955.11.