Sensex set for 8th straight fall on RBI dilemma

Markets edged lower with 30-share Sensex set to close lower for eighth straight session this Friday on back of selling pressure witnessed in rate-sensitive shares as investors remained uncertain as to when the central bank will rollback its short-term rate hike aimed to curb rupee’s fall.

 

At 2:10PM, 30-share Sensex dropped 115 points to trade at 19,201 while Nifty declined 41 points at 5,681.

 

Bank shares fell after the Reserve Bank of India Governor said on Friday the central bank would roll back recent cash tightening measures only after it determines stability has been restored in the foreign exchange market.

 

Global risk appetite improved after US factory output surged rose to its highest level since June 2011, easing concerns a slowdown in emerging economies may take a toll on US growth..

 

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 3.2% to 14,466, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.02% to 2,029, Singapore’s Straits Times added 0.4% to 3,256 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 22,190.

 

European stocks traded mixed. France’s CAC declined 0.1% to 6,671, Germany’s DAX rose 0.04% to 8,414 while UK’s FTSE shed 0.1% to 6.671 today.

 

Investors awaited the official US payrolls report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Employers added a net 185,000 workers in July, after hiring 195,000 in the previous month, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. 

 

Domestically, among the sectoral indices, banks, realty, auto and metal indices dropped while consumer durable and IT indices gained on the BSE.

 

The key gainers included counters such as Wipro and TCS rising between 1.5-2%, Infosys gained 1%,Reliance Industries gained 1.3%, BHEL gained 0.8% on the BSE.

 

The laggards were Jindal Steel slumping nearly 9%, Coal India dropped 5.6%, Sterlite Industries shed 5% on the BSE.

 

The key notable movers included counters such as Adani Enterprises that fell by 11.5% on reports that one of its group companies Adani Agro has an exposure of Rs 325 crore in castor seeds contracts on the National Spot Exchange Ltd. 

 

Titan Industries has moved higher by nearly 8% to Rs 279, after reporting a strong 42% year-on-year (yoy) jump in net sales at Rs 3,088 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (Q1), largely driven by jewellery on account of drop in gold prices. The company had sales income of Rs 2,175 crore in a year ago quarter.

 

Broader markets traded weak with mid-caps and small-caps falling nearly 1 per cent on the BSE.

 

The market breadth was negative. Out of 2, 185 stocks traded so far, 1,400 shares declined while 650 advanced on the BSE.