Markets witness bloodbath on F&O expiry session

Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-down start and are witnessing bloodbath in early deals on F&O expiry session, following weak global cues amid economic growth concerns. Traders remained cautious with private report stating that Indian financial markets’ liquidity position has worsened with cash deficit widening to about Rs 1.4 lakh crore this week compared with a small surplus in first week of October. Sentiments remain dampened with a report that the latest government data shows that during the first six months of the financial year, trade deficit in oil already touched $46.6 billion, up 67% from 27.9 billion during the same period in 2017-18. Market participants shrugged off private report that corporate India’s business optimism for the October-December quarter improved marginally on expectations of higher festive season demand, implementation of the 7th Pay Commission awards and increase in minimum support price (MSP) of Kharif crops.

Global cues remained dismal with all the Asian counters trading in red at this point of time, tracking decline on Wall Street, with trading floors awash with negativity on geopolitical concerns and following weak US economic and earnings data. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday after another round of mixed US earnings that exacerbated fears about slowing profits.

Back home, stocks related to telecom sector edged lower with Moody’s Investor Service in its latest report stating that Indian telecom players, who are involved in an intense competition, are unlikely to see any increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) soon. Stocks related to auto sector edged lower with a report, emphasising on the urgent need to move to a cleaner fuel as early as possible, the Supreme Court directed that only Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) vehicles shall be sold across the country from April 1, 2020.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33733.63, down by 300.33 points or 0.88% after trading in a range of 33712.09 and 33807.93. There were 4 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.90%, while Small cap index was down by 1.02%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.08%, Telecom down by 1.98%, Energy down by 1.42%, Basic Materials down by 1.33% and Consumer Durables down by 1.17%, while there were no gainers on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.31%, TCS up by 0.27%, Yes Bank up by 0.10% and NTPC up by 0.09%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.65%, Reliance Industries down by 1.97%, Vedanta down by 1.94%, ICICI Bank down by 1.73% and Tata Motors down by 1.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union agriculture secretary Sanjay Agarwal stated that the inter-ministerial committee has submitted the recommendations on doubling farmers' income by 2022 and the agriculture ministry is examining this recommendations. Agarwal said the panel has pitched for higher investment by both public and private sectors in the farm sector besides shifting the focus on post production and marketing of agri-produce. He added that some of the views of the panel are being implemented like linking 585 wholesale 'mandis' to the electronic platform and establishing soil testing labs across the country.

The panel headed by National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) CEO Ashok Dalwai has submitted a report with a detailed strategy to increase farmers' income to Rs 1.92 lakh per annum by 2022 based on the 2015-16 wholesale prices, from Rs 96,000 the current income. The Dalwai committee had set up in April 2016 to look into the entire gamut of Indian agricultural ecosystem, including input and risk management, post-harvest and marketing strategies, issues relating to sustainability.

According to the panel report, economic indicators do not show equitable and egalitarian growth in income of farmers despite increase in agriculture and horticulture output over last few years. The human factors behind agriculture, the farmers, remain in frequent distress, despite higher productivity and production. The demand for income growth from farming activity, has also translated into demand for government to procure and provide suitable returns. The inter-ministerial committee also suggested self-sustainable models empowered with improved market linkage as the basis for income growth of farmers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10125.45, down by 99.30 points or 0.97% after trading in a range of 10125.30 and 10159.55. There were 5 stocks advancing against 45 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 0.61%, NTPC up by 0.40%, Wipro up by 0.32%, Yes Bank up by 0.27% and Indian Oil Corporation up by 0.15%. On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing down by 6.06%, UPL down by 3.74%, Bharti Airtel down by 3.45%, Grasim Industries down by 2.15% and Vedanta down by 2.12% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets are trading in red; Nikkei 225 tumbled 697.72 points or 3.26% to 21,393.46, Taiwan Weighted dropped 223.35 points or 2.34% to 9,536.05, Straits Times decreased 32.56 points or 1.09% to 2,999.52, Jakarta Composite slipped 11.86 points or 0.21% to 5,697.56, Hang Seng declined 455.18 points or 1.84% to 24,794.60, KOSPI shed 40.90 points or 1.99% to 2,056.68 and Shanghai Composite was down by 37.09 points or 1.45% to 2,566.21.