Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks traded on a weak note throughout the day on Monday and sharp selloff in last hour of trade largely forced the markets to close near day’s low, with the Nifty ending below 10,950. The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers. Domestic bourses made a cautious start and traded with marginal losses, amid feeble global cues. Traders remained cautious on the commerce ministry’s data showing that India’s trade deficit widened to its highest level in more than five years in June, driven largely by a surge in oil prices and a weaker rupee. The trade deficit widened to $16.6 billion from $14.62 billion in May, though merchandise exports rose 17.57% year-on-year in June, on account of healthy growth in sectors such as petroleum and chemicals, while imports rose 21.31% to $44.3 billion during the month.  Anxiety also persisted on a report that the green-shoots of demand growth seen in some rural pockets is driven by farm loan waivers and not likely due to real increases in rural incomes and wages, indicative that the economy is still some time away from a full-blown rural revival.

Selling intensified in last hour of trade and local barometer gauges were hovering near the intraday low points, on the back of high Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data. India's wholesale inflation grew 5.77 percent in June, a four-and-half year high, driven by some food items and fuel prices. Market sentiments remained fragile with Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s (DIPP) data showing that FDI inflows in the services sector declined by about 23% to $6.7 billion in 2017-18. Traders failed to get relief with Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg’s statement that the Indian economy is at a take off stage and is expected to be the world’s third largest by 2030 with GDP worth $10 trillion.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly in red, as data showed China’s economy slowed slightly in the second quarter, compounded by the fear of a full-scale Sino-US trade war looming over markets.  European markets were trading mostly in red in early deals on Monday, as investors focused on earnings and monitored an upcoming meeting between the United States and Russia.

The BSE Sensex ended at 36330.93, down by 210.70 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 36298.94 and 36658.71. There were 10 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 2.43%, while Small cap index was down by 2.51%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.79% and TECK up by 0.35%, while Metal down by 3.47%, Healthcare down by 3.37%, Realty down by 3.34%, Basic Materials down by 3.03% and Telecom down by 2.60% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.72%, NTPC up by 1.67%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.25%, HDFC up by 1.12% and Yes Bank up by 1.06%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.95%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 5.16%, Tata Motors down by 4.62%, Sun Pharma down by 4.51% and ICICI Bank down by 3.19% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, expressing confidence on India’s growth, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has said that the Indian economy is expected to be the world’s third largest by 2030 with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) worth $10 trillion. He added ‘Good days are ahead and lot of good work is happening in the economy. The economy is on a stage of take off where Indians can legitimately hold their heads high’.

Garg said that in the first 40 years of independence, the country hardly grew at 3.5%, and currently 7-8% is the norm. He also said ‘By 2030, we can legitimately expect to be a $10 trillion economy. That is the challenge. That is also the opportunity’. He added that ‘8% growth is very much achievable... If we keep that... we can look forward to be an Indian economy of $10 trillion which would be the third largest economy in the world’.

Economic Affairs Secretary further said that India’s digital economy is expected to touch a $1 trillion mark by 2022 and going forward, possibly by 2030, the digital economy would be half of the total economy. Besides, India’s economy grew at a seven-quarter high of 7.7% in the three months ended March, helped by higher government spending and investments. Meanwhile, as per the World Bank data, the country became the sixth largest economy with a GDP of $2.59 trillion in 2017, relegating France to the seventh position.

The CNX Nifty ended at 10939.15, down by 79.75 points or 0.72% after trading in a range of 10926.25 and 11019.50. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 2.63%, NTPC up by 1.41%, Yes Bank up by 1.17%, Infosys up by 1.11% and HDFC up by 0.94%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 9.86%, Tata Steel down by 7.04%, Lupin down by 5.76%, Sun Pharma down by 4.78% and Tata Motors down by 4.31% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 32.11 points or 0.42% to 7,629.76 and France’s CAC added 1.59 points or 0.03% to 5,427.61, Germany’s DAX increased 13.51 points or 0.11% to 12,554.24.

Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Monday as a raft of Chinese data proved to be a mixed bag and investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's semi-annual congressional testimonies on Tuesday and Wednesday for directional cues. Chinese shares ended lower after official data showed China's GDP growth slowed to 6.7 percent in the second quarter, its slowest pace since 2016. That matched forecasts but was a tad lower than 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018. Retail sales numbers for June exceeded expectations and fixed asset investment grew in line with expectations while industrial output growth came in shy of forecasts. Meanwhile, the Japanese market was closed in observance of Marine Day.