Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks witnessed a bloodbath for second straight session and ended with a cut of around 1.50 percent, amid a weak rupee, which fell to its fresh record low for the second straight session. Heavy selling in the last hour of trade largely forced the markets to close at day’s low, breaching their crucial 11,300 (Nifty) and 37,500 (Sensex) levels. Key indices made a cautious start and traded with marginal losses as sentiments remained subdued with private report that India’s economic growth is expected to moderate in the second half of this financial year after a strong first quarter, owing to tighter financial conditions, high oil prices and slowing global growth. It expects real GDP growth to slow to 7-7.3% in the second half of this fiscal from 8.2% in June 2018 quarter. Traders remained cautious with private report that a depreciating currency will impact the economy adversely, as India imports around 83% of its crude oil requirement.

Local barometer gauges added losses and were hovering at the intraday low points in last hour of trade, as sentiments on the street weakened further with India Meteorological Department (IMD) data showing that the countrywide monsoon saw the highest rain deficiency of the season in August -- ironically the month when a large part of Kerala was submerged and many other states received excess rainfall. The markets continued to remain under pressure with Moody's Investors Service in its report stating that the ongoing free fall of the rupee against the US dollar is credit negative for Indian companies, especially for those that generate revenue in rupees but rely on dollar debt to fund their operations and have substantial dollar-based expenses. Caution also crept in ahead of Consumer Price Index-based (CPI) inflation and Index of Industrial Production data slated to be announced tomorrow. In the sectoral landscape, all the indices ended the day on a negative note with Consumer Durables counter witnessing the biggest fall in percentage terms.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mixed on Tuesday. European markets were trading in red in early deals, as investors shifted their focus to trade. Back home, banking stocks ended in red, with former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s statement that over optimistic bankers, slowdown in government decision making process and moderation in economic growth mainly contributed to the mounting bad loans. Besides, telecom sector was in focus after Manoj Sinha, telecom minister, has confided in the public that no more telecom operators will lose out to the increasing competition in the industry. Also, he said that the concerns rising after the consolidation in the sector need to be dispelled.

The BSE Sensex ended at 37414.48, down by 507.69 points or 1.34% after trading in a range of 37361.20 and 38043.27. There were 6 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 1.33%, while Small cap index was down by 1.30%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables down by 2.60%, Telecom down by 2.24%, FMCG down by 2.21%, Basic Materials down by 1.61% and Realty down by 1.58%. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Coal India up by 1.39%, NTPC up by 0.53%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.45%, Infosys up by 0.29% and Asian Paints up by 0.11%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.67%, Power Grid down by 3.24%, Hero MotoCorp down by 3.23%, Tata Motors down by 3.05% and Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.86% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest report on ‘Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2018’ has stated that share of India in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Asia and Pacific region moved up to 17.3% in 2017 from 14.6% in 2000. It added that the Asia and Pacific region accounts for more than two-fifths of the share of global GDP in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms.

The report said the three largest economies in Asia and the Pacific People’s Republic of China (PRC), India, and Japan accounted for more than 70% of the region’s GDP at PPP in 2017, up from about 63% in 2000. China accounted for 42.7% of the region’s total output at PPP in 2017, compared with 25.1% in 2000. The next largest regional share of GDP at PPP in 2017 was that of India at 17.3%, up from 14.6% in 2000, while Japan was third, with a 10.2% share in 2017, down from 23.1% in 2000.

According to the report, Asia and the Pacific’s growing share of global output, which increased from 30.1% to 42.6% during the review period, came at the expense of the global shares of North America, Europe, South America, and the rest of the world, which declined by 6.8, 4.7, 1.3, and 0.3 percentage points, respectively. The report further said that combined population of Asia and the Pacific reached 4.14 billion in 2017, or 54.8% of the world's total population, down from 56% in 2000.
In 2017, 5 of the 10 most populous economies in the world were located in Asia and the Pacific, including the two most populous, China (1.39 billion) and India (131 billion). The region's population is gradually ageing amid increasing life expectancy and decreasing fertility rates. In 2050, the number of people in Asia and the Pacific over the age of 65 is expected to exceed the number under the age of 15.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11282.00, down by 156.10 points or 1.36% after trading in a range of 11274.00 and 11479.40. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 1.31%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.03%, NTPC up by 0.53%, Asian Paints up by 0.31% and Infosys up by 0.28%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Titan Co down by 4.49%, Tata Steel down by 3.72%, ITC down by 3.38%, Power Grid down by 3.21% and Tata Motors down by 3.05% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 51.84 points or 0.72% to 7,227.46, France’s CAC was down by 13.83 points or 0.26% to 5,255.80 and Germany’s DAX shed 84.82 points or 0.71% to 11,901.52.

Asian markets ended mixed on Tuesday in the absence of any fresh developments in US-China trade tensions. Underlying sentiments remained supported somewhat after the White House said talks are underway over the possibility of a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Japanese stocks ended higher, with exporters lifted by the yen’s weakening against the dollar and technology shares boosted by gains for Wall Street counterparts. However, Chinese shares ended lower as investors awaited the US tariff announcement on $200 billion of Chinese imports in a dispute over Beijing's technology policy. Meanwhile, markets in Malaysia and Indonesia were closed in observance of Awal Muharram.