The frontline Indian stock indices continue to be in the negative terrain in the mid afternoon trade after the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty retreating from the intraday highs struck in late morning trade. Market breadth remains weak, as the broader market indices too are trading with a negative bias. The INDIA VIX is up sharply, reflecting the heightened volatility in the Indian markets.
At 2:12pm ( IST), the BSE Sensex was 16,518 down 27 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day’s high of 16,615 and aday’s low of 16,436. It opened at 16,436.
NSE Nifty was quoting 4,984 down 15 points over the previous close.It opened at 5,114.
TCS, Bajaj Auto, , ITC, Hindalco were among the notable leaders in the Sensex and the Nifty.
RIL, DLF, NTPC, ICICI Bank,M&M, Coal India,SBI, Bharti Airtel were among the notable losers in the Sensex and the Nifty
The BSE Small-Cap and BSE Mid-Cap index was trading down 1%.
IT, Teck, FMCG and HC indices are the gainers.
PSU, Metal, Realty,Bankex, Auto,Oil and Gas,Consumer Durables indices are the losers.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee has weakened further, as the US dollar remains strong amid rising risk aversion. High-yielding and risky global currencies are trading lower amid renewed concerns about the eurozone debt crisis. Crude oil futures and gold futures too are under pressure.
The weakness is in line with losses incurred by other Asian markets. Major markets in Asia lost 1% or more today, tracking overnight selloff on Wall Street and the European bourses.
The European indices, which opened higher, have suddenly taken a 'U' turn and are trading mostly lower. The Spanish benchmark has taken a severe beating, losing well over 2%. Markets in the UK, France and Italy are marginally down while the German index is up slightly.
The undertone across world markets has taken a beating as unfavourable outcome of elections in France and Greece has sparked fears of fresh turmoil in the debt-strapped euro area. Greek stocks hit a two-decade low yesterday amid a growing view that the nation might move out of the currency bloc later this year.
The BSE FMCG index is the top winner so far, up ~3%, followed by select gains IT, Pharma and Capital Goods indices.
Realty is the biggest loser, down ~2%, followed by Banking, Power, Metals, PSU, Oil & Gas and Auto indices. The Consumer Durables index is marginally down.
Monsoon, which promises to be good, may be a while away. For now dark clouds are hovering over the Mumbai skyline this morning. The markets of course are confronting their own set of headwinds – both domestic as well as foreign. The deferment of GAAR by a year was expected to be a short-term catalyst to support the market mood. However, stocks, currency, bonds or commodities – everything was in the red on Tuesday afternoon.
The only safe haven seems to be US dollar (despite a sluggish economic recovery). The risk-off trade is likely to persist for a while before there is any material relief. Markets may gradually adjust to external shocks (Greece exiting euro, or more trouble for Spain).
On the domestic front, the RBI has hinted that it has limited room to perk up the mood. So, it is pretty clear that the Government must move quickly to give a much-needed fillip to the economy. There might be an intraday turnaround but don’t get trapped in it as the bias remains negative for now.
The Indian markets confirmed a trend reversal with a formation of ‘bearish engulfing line’ on candlestick. The Nifty closed near the lowest point of the day. This has reinforced a negative for our market with immediate support seen at ~4925 levels.
Key Results Today: ABB, Arvind, Gammon Infra, Gati, Gayatri Sugars, GVK Power, IRB Infra, Mangalore Chemicals, Network 18 Media, NIIT, PNB, Ranbaxy Labs, Triveni Engineering, TV18 Broadcast, Union Bank of India, UB Holdings, Uttam Galva Steels, Vardhman Textiles, Zuari Industries and Zydus Wellness.
Trend in FII flows: The FIIs were net sellers of ~Rs 3.99bn in the cash segment on Tuesday while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 2.57bn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE.
The FIIs were net sellers of Rs 1.59bn in the F&O segment on Tuesday, according to the provisional NSE data.
The foreign funds were net sellers of Rs 5.92bn in the cash segment on Monday, according to the SEBI figures.
Global Data Watch today: Japan Leading Economic Index (March), Japan Coincident Index (March), Japan Current Account (March), Japan Trade Balance – BOP Basis (March), Germany Trade Balance (March), Germany Current Account (March), Germany wholesale price index (April), US Wholesale Inventories (March), US Fed Minneapolis’s Narayana Kocherlakota's speech.