Bourses remain under grip of bears

Indian equity bourses remained under a grip of bears in late afternoon session, amid weak cues from European markets. In line with the larger peers, the broader indices were too lingering under pressure in late noon deals, while ICICI Bank performed the worst among all major industry leaders on the BSE. Domestic sentiments remained sluggish, amid market regulator SEBI's annual report stating that as macroeconomic headwinds weighed on investor sentiments through the year, foreign portfolio investors pulled out Rs 38,930 crore in 2018-19. Anxiety also persisted over the street, as India's manufacturing activity eased in the month of August to 15-month low, on the back of subdued sales to domestic and international clients. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 51.4 in August from 52.5 in July, its lowest mark since May 2018.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as UK construction sector contracted for the fourth consecutive month in August as new work declined the most in over ten years, leading business optimism to plummet to over a decade-low. The data from IHS Markit's purchasing managers' survey showed that the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index fell to 45 from 45.3 in July. Asian markets were also trading in red.

Back home, metals stocks were in watch, after Fitch Solutions Macro Research said it has revised downwards its 2019 global steel price forecast as global prices continue to be hammered by poor sentiment amid ongoing US-China trade tensions and increasing downside risks to the global economy.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36758.60, down by 574.19 points or 1.54% after trading in a range of 36710.49 and 37188.38. 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 1.09%, while Small cap index was down by 0.94%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.51% and TECK up by 0.18%, while Metal down by 2.45%, Basic Materials down by 2.11%, Bankex down by 2.09%, Consumer Durables down by 1.95% and Energy down by 1.94% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.49%, HCL Tech. up by 1.16%, TCS up by 0.83%, Infosys up by 0.28% and Hero MotoCorp up by 0.06%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 3.86%, HDFC down by 3.54%, Vedanta down by 3.45%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 3.36% and Tata Steel down by 3.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's manufacturing activity eased in the month of August to 15-month low, on the back of subdued sales to domestic and international clients. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - slipped to 51.4 in August from 52.5 in July, its lowest mark since May 2018.

As per the survey report, subdued sales to domestic and international clients in turn curbed output growth, which softened to the weakest in a year. Employment also rose only marginally and to a lesser extent than in July. Further, inventories of manufactured goods decreased further in August, taking the current stretch of depletion to 25 months. The pace of reduction was marked and the quickest since last September.

The report said that although Indian manufacturers saw their cost burdens increase to a greater extent in August, the rate of input price inflation remained below its long-run average. On the other hand, charge inflation eased as a number of factories refrained from price hikes amid efforts to boost sales.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10851.70, down by 171.55 points or 1.56% after trading in a range of 10839.50 and 10967.50. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 2.04%, BPCL up by 1.28%, HCL Tech. up by 1.25%, Britannia up by 1.13% and Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 0.87%. On the flip side, Indian Oil Corporation down by 3.96%, ICICI Bank down by 3.88%, Ultratech Cement down by 3.76%, HDFC down by 3.68% and Vedanta down by 3.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 77.84 points or 0.3% to 25,548.71, Taiwan Weighted dropped 76.64 points or 0.72% to 10,558.21, KOSPI fell 3.50 points or 0.18% to 1,965.69 and Jakarta Composite was down by 0.65 points or 0.01% to 6,289.90. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 2.24 points or 0.08% to 2,926.35, Nikkei 225 surged 4.97 points or 0.02% to 20,625.16 and Straits Times was up by 7.82 points or 0.25% to 3,090.78.

All European markets were trading in red; FTSE lost 1.96 points or 0.03% to 7,279.98, CAC fell 22.42 points or 0.41% to 5,470.62 and DAX was down by 21.62 points or 0.18% to 11,932.16.