Post session - Quick review

After getting an appalling start for the new month’s F&O series, Stock markets in India, registered a loss of over a percentage points for the week, with the last session remaining one of the worst. Intense profit-booking took the 30 scrip sensitive index, Sensex, trickling down to a week’s low level, sub crucial 16,000 bastions. Similarly, the 50 share index, Nifty, too ended sub 5000 crucial fortress. Meanwhile, broader indices too suffered nasty laceration of over a percentage points. After effect  of Q4 GDP’s figures were sensed across Dalal Street, as barometer gauges ended near the low point of the day.

Courtesy to global equity markets, local barometer gauges right from the start of the trade were grinded lower under intense selling pressure, as investor’s made a bee-line to exit from the risky equities in the backdrop of global risk averse climate. Asian shares tumbled after China’s factory activity data delivered its weakest reading this year, highlighting concerns; the worsening euro zone debt crisis will further undermine global economic growth. However, immense pressure was exerted from European region, which were in jitters ahead of key US payrolls report and as persistent fears over the euro zone drove money out of equities and into cash and bonds.

Closer home, India’s HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, held steady at 54.8 in May from 54.9 in April, but provided little guidance to Indian equity markets. However, lot of buzz was seen in the sectoral space, Aviation stocks took of well, as oil companies slashed jet fuel prices by 2%. Reacting to this were, Kingfisher, Spice jet, Jet Airways. Further, OMC’s, like Indian Oil Corporation and BPCL, exhibited downtrend on the likelihood of petrol price revision. Additionally, Information technology too withered under gloomy global set-up. However, defensive buying in Fast Moving Consumer Goods counter, made the index pivotal as the lone gainer.

The BSE Sensex, plunging by 277.82 points or 1.71%, ended at 15,940.71. The index touched a high 16,226.19 and low of 15,933.48 respectively. 3 stocks advanced against 27 declines on the index.  The overall market breadth on BSE ended in the favor of declines in the ratio of 1828:852, while 118 shares remained unchanged.

The broader indices too remained appalling; the BSE Mid-cap index and Small-cap index ended lower by 1.46% and 1.22% respectively.

On the BSE sectoral space, FMCG up 0.37% emerged as the only gainer, while Capital Goods down 2.99%, Power down 2.49%, Auto down 2.17%, Oil & Gas down 2.11% and Information Technology down 2.01% were losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Gail India up by 2.65%, ITC up by 1.54% and Sun Pharma up by 0.24%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 3.73%, L&T down by 3.22%, RIL down by 3.16%, Sterlite Industries down by 3.08% and Maruti Suzuki down by 2.94% were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, coming in as yet another blow to the already dwindling economic growth numbers, the data on core industries showed a significant slowdown. The core industries have slowed down by half to 2.2% in April 2012 as compared to the 4.2% in the same month last year. The growth numbers of infrastructure industries in March also slowed down to 2.2% as compared to the same month last year.

Cumulatively infrastructure industries slowed down to 4.4% in 2011-12 as compared to 6.6% in 2010-11. Core industries have a weight of 37.9% in the IIP index and these dismal numbers will surely pull down the IIP numbers.  The worst performers in the eight core industries were natural gas and fertilizers, which contracted by 11.3% and 9.3% respectively. Other industries, which saw contraction were crude oil production which was down by 1.3% and petroleum refinery product that shrunk by 2.8%.

Coal, steel and cement grew by 3.8%, 5.8% and 8.6% in April 2012 respectively. However, electricity generation, which is the heaviest in the Index, slowed down to 4.6% in April 2012. The core industry numbers have come in right after the dismal GDP numbers. India's GDP growth rate plunged to 9-year low, both in the March quarter at 5.3%, as well as for the entire fiscal at 6.5%. The slowdown can be attributed to both the weakening of domestic as well as global demand.

The S&P CNX Nifty dipped by 82.65 points or 1.68% to end at 4,841.60. The index touched a high and low of 4,925.00 and 4,831.75 respectively. 4 stocks advanced against 46 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were ITC up 2.27%, Gail India up 1.62%, Sun Pharma up by 0.36% and Hindalco up 0.30%,.

On the flip side, Asian Paint down 6.13%, Cairn India down by 5.57%, Siemens down 5.43%, Ranbaxy and Bank of baroda down by 5.05% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the European equity indices were trading in red, CAC 40 declined 1.45%, DAX shed 2.70% and FTSE 100 was down by 0.84%.