Bears hold tight grip on markets

Bears held their tight grip on Indian equity benchmarks in late afternoon session, following weak cues from European markets. Domestic sentiments also got hit with a private report stating that India's industrial production is expected to stay muted in the near term, owing to weak exports, rural distress, credit constraints and uncertainty over the election outcome. According to the report, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is likely to have grown by 3-3.2 per cent during February 2019. Some worries also came after Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu called for a renewed focus on rural health care and cautioned that the quality of healthcare being delivered cannot be determined by the price being paid. On the sectoral front, stocks related to the power sector came under pressure, amid reports that as much as Rs 3 lakh crore of investment in a dozen power plants of the private sector is at risk of turning into NPA as states buying power have not been making payment for months.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red, as Germany's private sector grew at its slowest pace in nearly six years, led by a sharp decline in manufacturing. The flash data from IHS Markit revealed that the composite output index fell to a 69-month low of 51.5 in March from 52.8 in February. The flash services Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 54.9 in March from 55.3 in February, while the flash manufacturing PMI dropped more-than-expected to 44.7 in March from 47.6 In February. Asian markets were also trading in red, as investors fret about an impending US recession and the risk of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37705.22, down by 459.39 points or 1.20% after trading in a range of 37705.22 and 38016.76. There were 5 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.07%, while Small cap index was down by 1.22%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.55%, Oil & Gas up by 0.44%, PSU up by 0.43% and Utilities up by 0.40%, while Telecom down by 2.37%, Realty down by 2.01%, Metal down by 1.55%, Bankex down by 1.46% and Basic Materials down by 1.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.02%, ONGC up by 1.67%, NTPC up by 1.53%, Coal India up by 0.75% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.38%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 2.96%, Sun Pharma down by 2.31%, HDFC down by 2.18%, Tata Motors down by 2.14% and ICICI Bank down by 2.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India has climbed two spots to rank at 76 out of 115 economies in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) global energy transition index. The index benchmarks 115 countries on the current level of their energy system performance, and the readiness of their macro environment for transition to a secure, sustainable, affordable and inclusive future energy system.

As per the ‘Fostering Effective Energy Transition report’ which is part of the World Economic Forum’s System Initiative on Shaping the Future of Energy, India is amongst the countries with high pollution levels and has a relatively high CO2 intensity in its energy system. Despite this, India has made significant strides to improve energy access in recent years, and currently scores well in the area of regulation and political commitment towards energy transition.

Further, the country has scored low in terms of system performance (ranking 97 and 86, respectively), while it ranks considerably higher when it comes to readiness (45 and 61, respectively). Overall, India has moved up two places from 78th last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11321.70, down by 135.20 points or 1.18% after trading in a range of 11321.30 and 11395.65. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.83%, Power Grid up by 2.09%, ONGC up by 1.67%, NTPC up by 1.11% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 4.31%, Vedanta down by 3.02%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.94%, UPL down by 2.74% and Sun Pharma down by 2.27% were the top losers.

All the Asian market were trading in red; Shanghai Composite lost 61.12 points or 1.97% to 3,043.03, Hang Seng decreased 627.40 points or 2.16% to 28,485.96, KOSPI fell 42.09 points or 1.92% to 2,144.86, Jakarta Composite dropped 107.51 points or 1.65% to 6,417.76, Taiwan Weighted dropped 159.59 points or 1.5% to 10,479.48, Nikkei 225 slipped 650.23 points or 3.01% to 20,977.11 and Straits Times was down by 42.57 points or 1.33% to 3,169.53.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 lost 29.87 points or 0.41% to 7,177.72 and France’s CAC fell 7.35 points or 0.14% to 5,262.57, while Germany’s DAX was up by 18.64 points or 0.16% to 11,382.81.