The key Indian stock indices continue to be down in mid-afternoon trade after a lower start, with the NSE Nifty hovering around the 5200 mark and the BSE Sensex losing more than 100 points.
At 2:19pm ( IST), the BSE Sensex was 17,187 down 114 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day’s high of 17,271 and aday’s low of 17,148. It opened at 17,271.
NSE Nifty was quoting 5,200 down 38 points over the previous close.It has earlier touched a day’s high of 5,217 and a day’s low of 5,189. It opened at 5,211.
Infosys, Wipro,Ranbaxy, HUL, BHEL were among the notable leaders in the Sensex and the Nifty.
DLF, Maruti, Tata Power, Coal India, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, Reliance Infra, Tata Steel, Coal India, were among the notable losers in the Sensex and the Nifty
The BSE Small-Cap and BSE Mid-Cap index was trading down 1%.
Consumer Durables, Teck and IT indices are the gainers.
Power, Bankex, FMCG, HC, Realty,Metal , Auto, Oil and Gas, Power, Consumer Goods, PSU indices are the losers.
The rupee has slipped below the 53 per dollar mark, hitting a four-month low against the greenback, as the widening trade and current account deficits weigh on the Indian currency.
Most sectoral indices are in the red, led by Auto, Metals, Banking, PSU, Realty and Power indices. Oil & Gas, Capital Goods and FMCG indices are also in the red. IT, Teck, Consumer Durables and Pharma indexes are in the positive territory.
The broader indices too are under pressure while the INDIA VIX is up ~5%.
The undercurrent is weak today after data showed lower-than-expected increase in private sector jobs and deeper contraction in the eurozone's manufacturing sector. Unemployment rate also spiked in the debt-strapped euro area. Separately, data today showed weakness in China's service sector.
Global markets will be closely watching the ECB policy meeting and President Mario Draghi's press conference later today and US non-farm payrolls report on Friday for further cues on the health of the global economy.
Shares of sugar companies climbed in a weak market after the Government lifted the quantitative curbs on sugar and placed the commodity under the open general license (OGL) regime, on par with wheat and rice.
Shares of Shree Renuka Sugars, Balrampur Chini, Bajaj Hindusthan, Triveni Engineering, Oudh Sugar, Rana Sugars, Mawana Sugars, KCP Sugar, KM Sugar, Gayatri Sugars, Dharani Sugars, Sakthi Sugars, Uttam Sugar, Ugar Sugar, Upper Ganges and Dhampur Sug Mills were all up smartly even as the main Indian stock indices slipped.
Shares of banks came under pressure on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced tighter capital norms for domestic lenders for the implementation of Basel III international standards.
The Banking indices on the BSE and the NSE were down nearly 1.5% while the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty lost ~0.8% each.
Axis Bank and ICICI Bank led the list of losers in the main indexes followed by SBI, BOB and PNB. On the other hand, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were flat.
The Basel III norms were conceived after the 2008 financial crisis to strengthen the lenders’ capital base and improve their ability to withstand shocks.
On the other hand, shares of IT companies like Infosys, Wipro and TCS were holding their own in a weak market. The IT index is the sole winner on the BSE among the sectoral plays.
Business activity in India's dominant service sector increased modestly in April, thanks to a rise in new business but the key gauge remained close to a five-month low.
HSBC's Business Activity Index, compiled by Markit Economics, rose to 52.8 in April from 52.3 in March. A reading above 50 implies expansion while any print below it denotes contraction.
On Wednesday, HSBC-Markit data showed growth improving slightly in the manufacturing sector on rising orders.
Meanwhile, Citigroup says that it maintains an aggressive stance in its model portfolio for India, and keeps its target for the BSE index at 18,400 points from current levels.
Citigroup says that it has retained an "overweight" position on Banks, Autos and Capital Goods, though it tempers some of its views given strong performance year-to-date and modest outlook for interest rate cuts.
Citigroup's views contrast with more cautious reports from Deutsche Bank, UBS and Nomura.
Separately, Morgan Stanley warns that India faces a high risk of a shock in its balance of payments (BoP), unless the Government cuts spending, including on subsidies, or oil prices decline sharply.
India is the only country in the region with a current account deficit. It hit a record high for the year ended March 2012.
Given the vulnerability on so many domestic fronts, any signs of global risk aversion would particularly hit flows and the rupee, Morgan Stanley says.
Most European stock indices are trading with a positive bias, as investors await the outcome of the ECB policy meeting later today. Market players are hoping that the ECB president will prepare the ground for further stimulus measures to boost economic growth in the debt-stricken euro area. The euro single currency was languishing near two-week lows.
Spain will test sentiment for riskier eurozone government debt with auction of new three- and five-year bonds. The country's borrowing costs are expected to rise.
Asian stock indices finished mixed after data showed weakness in the US and European labour markets and China’s services industry signaled weaker economic growth.
Chinese banks slumped after Temasek Holdings sold shares in the nation’s lenders. Banks weighed on the Hong Kong market, while Australian shares held near multi-month highs.
Japanese markets will remain shut for the rest of the week due to public holidays.
China's non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 56.1 in April from 58 in March, according to a survey released today by the National Bureau of Statistics and Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
A reading above 50 signals an expansion.
Bank of China and China Construction Bank Corp. retreated after Temasek, Singapore’s state-owned investment company, sold US$2.48bn of Hong Kong-traded shares in the two banks.