Market slumps on global sell-off, dips 1,061 points for the week

Mumbai: Both (BSE) Bombay Stock Exchange and (NSE) National Stock Exchange markets slumped further for the 2nd consecutive week following a massive sell-off in overseas stock markets triggered by spike in global bond yields.

Overseas, US stock-market indexes did an about-face in late on Friday, booking sharp gains for the session, but recording the worst weekly losses in about two years, during one of the most frenetic stretches of trading on Wall Street.

Climbing bond yields and higher inflation have been partly to blame for igniting once-dormant volatility in the market. Frantic capital outflows against the grim backdrop of a scary fall in domestic equities largely weighed on trading front even as fears deepened over US Federal Reserve rising short-term interest rates nearterm.

Foreign investors remained net sellers and sold shares worth whopping Rs 7,380.26 crs during the week as the turmoil in global stock markets saw traders shun equities in favor of perceived safe havens.

Back home, trading for the week started on a dismal note a sell-off in global markets hit sentiments on domestic bourses which are already reeling under budget woes, after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced bringing the long term capital gains (LTCG) tax in Union Budget 2018.

As widely expected, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel decided status-quo on interest rate at 6 percent and maintained the reverse repo rate at 5.75 percent on Wednesday, while lowered the economic growth projection for 2017-18 to 6.6 per cent, flagged concerns over wider fiscal deficit.

The market incurred losses after RBI decision dragged down mostly rated sensitive banking and financials stocks. Stocks advanced as bargain hunting emerged on Thursday after 7th-straight sessions of sell-off in the wake of a combination of domestic and global factors. Lesser hawkish stance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its monetary policy meeting, also supported the gains on the bourses.

In the week ended Friday, the Sensex slumped 1,060.99 points or 3.03 per cent to finish at 34,005.76, its lowest closing level since 4 January 2018. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 305.65 points or 2.84 per cent to end at 10,454.95, its lowest closing level since 3 January 2018. (The Sensex and Nifty dropped by 2,044.68 points or 5.76 per cent and 614.70 points or 5.63 per cent, respectively during past two week sessions).

All the sectoral indices got severely punished led by banking, capital goods, IT, Teck, FMCG, Oil&Gas, Auto, Consumer Durables and PSU sectors. The broader midcap and small cap shares were resilient to selling pressure, recovered smartly to outperformed the Sensex.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 7,380.26 crore during the week, as per Sebi’s record including the provisional figure of February 09, 2018. Broader market, however, was resilient to selling pressure.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 60.21 points or 0.36 per cent to end at 16,634.91 and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index climbed 325.45 points or 1.82 per cent to close at 18,172.98. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Among sectoral and industry indices, bankex dipped by 35.67 per cent followed by capital goods 3.51 per cent, IT 3.02 per cent, Teck 2.73 per cent, FMCG 1.48 per cent, Oil and gas 0.80 per cent and Auto 0.67 per cent.

While, Realty climbed by 2.13 per cent, Healthcare 1.99 per cent and IPO 1.22 per cent. Among the 31-share Sensex pack, 25 stocks fell and remaining 6 stocks rose during the week.

Index lossers were Yes Bank 6.99 per cent followed by HDFC 6.84 percent, Larsen 6.01 per cent, TCS 5.62 per cent, wipro 5.44 per cent, InduIndBank 5.74 per cent, HDFC bank 4.94 per cent, Adaniport 4.29 per cent, Tata Motors 3.87 per cent, Bajaj Auto 3.63 per cent, TataMtrDvr 2.90 per cent, Infosys 2.62 per cent, ONGC 2.44 per cent, Mahindra and Mahindra 2.41 per cent, ICICI Bank 2.40 per cent, HindUnilever 2.38 per cent, HeroMotoCo 2.14 per cent and ITC 1.45 per cent.

However, SunPharma rose by 5.72 per cent, Dr Reddy 3.43 per cent, Coal India 2.84 per cent and Tata Steel 2.08 per cent.

The total turnover during the week on BSE eased to Rs 24,106.99 crs as against last weekend’s level of Rs 28,417.25 crores and NSE moved down to 1,76,449.69 crores compared to Rs 1,96,972.94 crores previously.

PTI