Local equities extend losses; Sensex plunges over 0.50%

Local equity markets have extended their losses in morning deals and hovering near the lowest point of the day on account of selling in frontline counters. The frontline indices have drifted even below the psychological 37,800 (Sensex) and 11,300 (Nifty) levels. Sentiments remained down-beat as International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut India’s FY20 growth forecast by 30 bps to 7%, owing to weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand. Similarly, the FY21 forecast has been slashed by 30 bps to 7.2%. Investors failed to draw any sense of relief from a private report that while rising living costs and economic growth slump took its toll over consumer sentiment, the same has now picked up, barely, after going down by 2.9% in June 2019. Traders ignored Finance Ministry’s statement that the government has increased the time period by 1 month for doubling the money invested in Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) to 9 years and 5 months. The funds parked in KVP with effect from July 1, 2019, will double in ‘9 years and 5 months’ as against ‘9 years and 4 months’ earlier. Besides, the government stated there is no official estimation of black money in the country, however, it has taken several concrete steps to crack down on illicit funds.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed amid reports that the US and China will soon resume trade negotiations. Back home, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that 10% customs duty on imported newsprint was a move to provide a level playing field for domestic manufacturers. She added domestic newsprint manufacturers were finding it difficult to find buyers because the same was being imported.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37786.13, down by 196.61 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 37765.67 and 38102.84. There were 6 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index slipped 1.38%, while Small cap index was down by 0.77%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 2.62%, Oil & Gas down by 1.71%, Realty down by 1.61%, Basic Materials down by 1.59% and Auto was down by 1.48%, while there were no gainers on the sectoral indices.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 1.45%, Yes Bank up by 0.66%, SBI up by 0.39%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.32% and HDFC Bank was up by 0.20%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 3.12%, Tata Steel down by 2.76%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.53%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.23% and Tata Motors was down by 1.82% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in line with evolving macro-economic environment, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched Utkarsh 2022, the central banks' medium- term strategy framework. The Utkarsh 2022 has been launched to achieve excellence in the performance of RBI's mandates and strengthening the trust of citizens and other institutions.

The RBI said its management attaches high importance to ' Utkarsh 2022' and will periodically monitor its implementation and progress through a sub-committee of the Central Board. A formal strategic management framework was launched in April 2015 to re-articulate the core purpose, values and vision statement of the RBI so as to delineate its strategic objectives in contemporary terms to provide a framework and backdrop within and against which its policies would be formulated.

The strategic framework contains the RBI's mission, core purpose, values and vision statements, reiterating the bank's commitment to the nation. The medium- term vision statements set out excellence in performance of statutory and other functions; strengthened trust of citizens and other institutions in the RBI; and enhance relevance and significance in national and global roles, among other objectives.  The vision statements are mutually reinforcing and will guide the RBI during the medium- term period (2019-22) through various strategies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11254.50, down by 76.55 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 11249.95 and 11359.75. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 1.50%, Bharti Infratel up by 0.80%, Yes Bank up by 0.66%, Zee Entertainment up by 0.58% and Hindustan Unilever was up by 0.33%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 4.18%, Eicher Motors down by 3.93%, BPCL down by 3.54%, Vedanta down by 3.24% and Tata Steel was down by 2.59% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng increased 173.62 points or 0.61% to 28,640.10, Nikkei 225 surged 68.17 points or 0.32% to 21,689.05, Shanghai Composite gained 29.23 points or 1.01% to 2,929.17 and Straits Times was up by 7.55 points or 0.22% to 3,380.68.

On the other side; Taiwan Weighted dropped 1.12 points or 0.01% to 10,946.14, KOSPI fell 14.10 points or 0.67% to 2,087.35 and Jakarta Composite was down by 15.21 points or 0.24% to 6,388.60.