Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks remained under pressure throughout the session and ended with losses of around a percent, triggered by a sell-off in global equities amid concerns about a slowdown in the world economy along with a weak rupee. Traders were 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. The street remained disappointed 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. Cautiousness also crept in after the Income Tax Department (ITD) launched multiple raids at over 100 locations in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as part of a tax evasion probe against mining and mineral export companies.

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. The market participants even overlooked Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg’s statement that the non-banking financial companies' (NBFCs) liquidity, rupee fall are temporary problems. He also noted that the government is conscious of liquidity problem but is not worried because these are temporary and would more look at taking steps to resolve these problems.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly in red on Thursday, on the back of a sharp fall in US markets that erased all the gains made this year, as investor concerns mount that economic growth is peaking amid an uncertain geopolitical backdrop. European markets were trading in green, as investors digested corporate earnings and looked ahead to a rate decision by the European Central Bank (ECB). Back home, stocks related to tea sector ended in red despite India making a strong pitch to expand its steadily growing market for black tea in China by organising a tea promotion campaign that would help in scaling up the tea trade between the two countries. Besides, 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.

The BSE Sensex ended at 33717.26, down by 316.70 points or 0.93% after trading in a range of 33553.18 and 33838.76. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.54%, while Small cap index was down by 0.96%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom down by 2.73%, Realty down by 1.78%, Healthcare down by 1.58%, Basic Materials down by 1.39% and Industrials down by 1.11%. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Wipro up by 3.09%, Coal India up by 1.79%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.37%, Power Grid up by 0.68% and Asian Paints up by 0.51%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 6.09%, Vedanta down by 3.30%, Yes Bank down by 2.82%, Tata Motors down by 2.73% and Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.72% were the top losers. (Provisional)

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 ended at 10133.35, down by 91.40 points or 0.89% after trading in a range of 10079.30 and 10166.60. There were 12 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 2.70%, Indian Oil up by 2.33%, HCL Tech up by 2.23%, Coal India up by 1.77% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.26%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 7.18%, Bharti Airtel down by 5.92%, UPL down by 4.02%, Vedanta down by 3.75% and Hindalco down by 3.15% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 6.85 points or 0.1% to 6,969.83, France’s CAC surged 72.09 points or 1.43% to 5,025.18 and Germany’s DAX rose 72.37 points or 0.64% to 11,264.00.

Most of the Asian counters ended in red on Thursday after US markets plunged overnight on the back of disappointing corporate earnings results and weak economic data. Lingering geopolitical tensions, worries about the US-China trade wars and rising geopolitical tensions also dented investors’ sentiments. Japanese shares closed lower with chip-related stocks taking heavy beating after a steep fall on Wall Street pulled the Nasdaq Composite into correction territory. However, Chinese shares bucked the global weak trend to end little changed after recent heavy losses.