Markets add to losses led by selling in Bankex, FMCG stocks

Barometer gauges were adding to losses in the early noon session taking cues from global counterparts. Profit booking in frontline blue chip stocks such as Yes Bank, ICICI Bank and Sun Pharma pulled the markets lower. Bankex, FMCG and Consumer Durables were amongst the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. Depreciation in Indian rupee too dampened the sentiments. Meanwhile, the BSE Mid cap and Small cap index were too trading in red, putting some pressure on the larger peers. Some pessimism also spread amongst the investors with India Ratings’ report showing that India’s rural wage growth has slumped to a mere 0.45% in the financial years 2016-18 from an average of 11% in the financial years 2013-15, due to the negative impact of note-ban. However, losses were limited as market-men were getting some relief from the Commerce Ministry’s statement that a National Logistics Portal is being developed which will boost trade competitiveness. Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service said that the Indian economy is expected to grow by around 7.5% in 2018 and 2019 as it is largely resilient to external pressures like those from higher oil prices. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red after US-China trade talks ended without progress, with the markets braced for a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for hints on the direction of US monetary policy. Back home, in scrip specific development, TVS Motor surged on the buzz of aiming to sell 2 lakh units of TVS Radeon and Orient Electric gained on eyeing over 50% market share in premium fans segment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38277.95, down by 58.81 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 38249.35 and 38429.50. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.06%, while Small cap index down by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.71%, Power up by 0.59%, Oil & Gas up by 0.53%, Basic Materials up by 0.45% and PSU up by 0.41%, while Bankex down by 0.66%, FMCG down by 0.45%, Consumer Durables down by 0.26%, Healthcare down by 0.20% and IT down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.21%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.47%, Wipro up by 1.42%, Coal India up by 1.18% and Vedanta up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.24%, ICICI Bank down by 2.09%, Sun Pharma down by 1.35%, Indusind Bank down by 1.24% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has imposed standard environment clearance (EC) conditions for 25 major sectors to bring in ‘uniformity’. The 25 sectors include iron, steel, cement, coal, petroleum refineries, paper and pulp industries, hydro-electric projects, industrial estates, among others.

The Ministry has prepared standard conditions for 25 sectors, in order to bring uniformity on stipulated terms and conditions across the projects and sectors and as a general guidance to EAC as well as project proponents. The government has constituted green panel called Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) which assesses the projects and makes recommendations, based on which the Environment Ministry grants the final EC. 

The standard EC conditions will have to be considered by EAC at the time of appraisal of the proposals. EAC after due diligence, can modify, delete and add conditions based on the project specific requirements.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11568.40, down by 14.35 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 11554.10 and 11604.60. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 2.48%, ONGC up by 2.36%, UPL up by 2.03%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.47% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.46%, ICICI Bank down by 2.14%, Titan Co down by 2.13%, Sun Pharma down by 1.48% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.43% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times decreased 22.54 points or 0.7% to 3,227.35, Hang Seng decreased 52.79 points or 0.19% to 27,737.67, Taiwan Weighted decreased 53.78 points or 0.5% to 10,809.35 and Jakarta Composite decreased 19.78 points or 0.33% to 5,963.21.

On the other hand, KOSPI increased 9.16 points or 0.4% to 2,291.76, Nikkei 225 increased 190.95 points or 0.84% to 22,601.77 and Shanghai Composite increased 18.35 points or 0.67% to 2,742.97.