Benchmarks witness slaughter on weak global cues

Indian barometer gauges, prolonging their southward journey for fourth consecutive session, witnessed blood bath on Tuesday with both the major indices losing over one and half a percent and closed near their lowest level in almost three months, breaching major crucial support levels 19,150 (Sensex) and 5,800 (Nifty) on feeble global cues. After a negative opening, the domestic bourses never looked in recovery mood and continued sliding till end, closing near the lowest point of the day. Selling was both brutal and wide-based as, barring software and technology, none of sectoral indices on BSE were spared. Counters, which featured in the list of worst performers, include oil and gas, auto and capital goods. Sentiments also got dampened as there were no positive surprises in the Railway Budget 2013-14 which was presented by the Railway Minister, Pawan Kumar Bansal in the lower house of the Parliament. Shares of companies like Kernex Microsystems (India), Titagarh Wagons, Kalindee Rail Nirman (Engineers), Hind Rectifiers and Stone India all edged lower.

Selling got intensified as European markets made an awful start, with investors seeking safety as Italy faced political deadlock following crucial elections in the indebted euro-zone nation. While, Asian markets went home mostly with red mark on Tuesday, with dealers spooked by an election in Italy that left no clear winner, leading to political uncertainty and fresh fears about euro-zone stability.

Back home, Finance Minister P Chidambaram is planning to cut the public spending target for fiscal 2013 by up to 10 percent from this year’s original target, in what would be the most austere budget unveiled in recent history as he tries to avert a sovereign credit downgrade. Adding to the concerns was the Union Budget’s unintended impact on inflationary pressure, which may further dampen the chances for rapid interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India.

Selling in Aviation sector too dampened the sentiments. Stocks like Jet Airways, Kingfisher and Spicejet all edged lower on concerns of increased competition after Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia last week announced the launch of its new airline in India in partnership with the Tata Group. Steel and cement stocks also tumbled after the Minister for Railways Pawan Kumar Bansal, announced fuel adjustment component (FAC) linked revision for freight tariff to be implemented with effect from April 1, 2013. Bucking the trend, telecom stocks like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications edged higher after telecom operators on February 25, 2013 snubbed the 2G spectrum put on the block by the government for the second round of auction.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty declined by over ninety points to end below the psychological 5,800 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex tumbled by over three hundred and ten points to finish below the psychological 19,150 mark. Moreover, broader markets too witnessed blood-bath and ended the session with a cut of between 1.50-2.50 per cent.

The overall volumes stood above Rs 2.23 lakh crore, which remained on the higher side as compared to that on Monday. The market breadth remained in favor of declines as there were 774 shares on the gaining side against 2,072 shares on the losing side while 115 shares remain unchanged.

Finally, the BSE Sensex shaved off 316.55 points or 1.64% to settle at 19,015.14, while the CNX Nifty plunged by 93.40 points or 1.60% to end at 5,761.35.

The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low of 19,293.49 and 18,976.94, respectively. The BSE Mid cap index down by 1.76% and Small cap index was down by 2.43%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were, TCS up by 1.56%, Infosys up 1.47%, Bharti Airtel up 1.38%, NTPC up 0.73% and Hindustan Unilever up 0.22%, while Hindalco down by 4.49%, Bajaj Auto down by 4.20%, HDFC down by 3.74%, ONGC down by 3.74% and Reliance down by 3.51% were the top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the BSE Sectoral space were, IT up 0.89% and TECK up 0.77%, while Oil & Gas down 3.07%, Auto down 2.76%, Capital Goods down 2.44%, Metal down 2.30% and PSU down 2.29% were top losers on the sectoral space.

Meanwhile, demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG), one of the fastest growing segments of the gas market, is expected to rise by 4.6% annually over the next 15 years. For the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region alone, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects demand for natural gas to rise by 79 billion cubic meters (bcm) or 20% between 2011 and 2017, surpassing incremental supply in the region by 7 bcm since low gas prices supports higher consumption by the utilities and transportation sectors.

Similarly, demand from the Asia-Pacific region for LNG from the MENA region is also strong, mainly from Japan, Korea and India. Further, going by this trend, it looks like it will continue through 2020 with a significant rise expected in demand from China and Korea.

As per IEA, to meet the growing demands, the infrastructure underpinning global trade in LNG - storage tanks, terminals, tankers will need to grow and develop in tandem. The growth of the global LNG market is spurring innovation in the industry and there are some fascinating cutting edge technologies being developed at the moment, which we will be getting an insight into at LNG 17, it added.

The CNX Nifty touched a high and a low of 5,838.85 and 5,748.60 respectively. 

The top gainers on the Nifty were TCS up by 1.75%, Infosys up 1.75%, Bharti Airtel up 1.30%, Grasim up 0.98% and JP Associates up by 0.74%.

On the flip side, the top losers of the index were, Ranbaxy down by 4.76%, Bajaj Auto down by 4.31%, Hindalco down by 4.31%, HDFC down by 3.75% and Maruti down by 3.61%.

The European markets were trading in red, France’s CAC 40 down by 2.27%, United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 down by 1.25% and Germany’s DAX down by 1.87%.

Asian equity markets went home with red mark on Tuesday, as investors remained frightened by an election in Italy that left no clear winner, leading to political uncertainty and fresh worries about euro-zone stability. Japan’s Nikkei ended lower with huge losses, as yen rebounded sharply, resulting fall in exporter shares. Meanwhile, South Korean stocks closed in negative territory, amid stock specific movement.