Sensex tanks 410 points on trade war fears

Summary of the day's session : The BSE Sensex plunged by about 410 points to close at a five-month low while the broader Nifty crashed below the 10,000 mark for the first time this year following a global sell-off due to fears of a trade war as US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods. The 30-share Sensex tumbled by 409.73 points or 1.24 per cent to close at a five-month low of 32,596.54, a level last seen on October 23 last year.

The 50-issue Nifty ended below the psychological 10,000-level by dropping 116.70 points or 1.15 per cent to 9,998.05, the lowest closing level in five months. The level was last seen on October 11 last year, when it had closed at 9,984.80.

Investors lost around Rs 1.57 lakh crore in market valuation today.

For the fourth straight week, the flagship Sensex recorded a fall of 579.46 points, or 1.75 per cent, while the NSE Nifty lost 197.10 points, or 1.93 per cent.

The losers

Realty, metal, bankex, capital goods, healthcare, PSU, auto and oil & gas stocks recorded widespread losses.

Metal stocks led by SAIL, Jindal Steel, Vedanta, Hindalco Ind. Jindal Steel, National Aluminium, Hindustan Zinc, Tata Steel, NMDC and JSW Steel fell up to 6.58 per cent due to intense selling pressure.

Banking stocks took a hit after Totem Infrastructure was booked by the CBI for allegedly defrauding a consortium of eight banks led by Union Bank to the tune of Rs 1,394 crore.

The Nifty Bank index fell 471.10 or 1.95 per cent to close at around eight-month low of 23,670.40 as Axis Bank, PNB, Yes Bank, Canara Bank, ICICI Bank, IDFC Bank, SBI, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, Federal Bank and IndusInd Bank dropped up to 3.87 per cent.

Union Bank of India also ended lower by 8.29 per cent to Rs 86.85 amid concerns over losses incurred in a Rs 1,394-crore loan fraud case.

Sentiment turns bearish

Investor sentiment turned extremely bearish, in line with sharp losses on the Wall Street, Asian and European markets, on growing fears of a global trade war after Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing drawing up a list of retaliatory measures, brokers said.

The markets opened with a negative bias as global trade war tensions intensified after US President Donald Trump ordered at least USD 50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports and China announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on USD 3 billion of imports from the US, Anand Shah, Deputy CEO & Head of Investments — BNP Paribas Mutual Fund said.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd said, “Volatility expanded and market is losing its grip due to escalating tensions of trade war and spike in oil prices.”

“Market corrected 10 per cent from its peak while metal & PSU banks continue to be the laggards. We expect domestic chaos to stabilise as pressure of redemption will be over by the end of FY18 but pre-election volatility may take some time.”

In the Sensex kitty, Tata Motors, L&T, Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy’s RIL, Wipro, HDFC, Sun Pharma, HeroMotocorp, HUL, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, ITC, TCS and NTPC, lost up to 2.10 per cent.

IT and media stocks, however, posted gains. Adaniports, Infosys, Powergrid, M&M, Coal India and Asian Paints ended in the positive zone, gaining up to 0.99 per cent.

The sectoral indices led by realty fell 3.31 per cent, metal 2.89 per cent, bankex 2.08 per cent, finance 1.73 per cent, capital goods 1.56 per cent, healthcare 1.48 per cent, PSU 1.30 per cent, energy 1.15 per cent, auto 0.85 per cent, oil & gas 0.85 per cent, infrastructure 0.84 per cent, power 0.68 per cent, FMCG 0.64 per cent and consumer durables 0.08 per cent.

Techs in positive zone : While, Teck and IT indices ended in the positive zone with gaining up to 0.32 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE small-cap index fell by 1.54 per cent while the mid-cap index shed 1.36 per cent.

Shares of Gitanjali Gems continued to be under selling pressure, falling 4.93 per cent to Rs 9.65.

Global markets

In Asian region, Japan’s Nikkei lost 4.51 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.45 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index shed 3.39 per cent.

European markets were down in early deals. Paris CAC 40 was down 1.69 per cent, while Frankfurt’s DAX lost 1.81 per cent. London’s FTSE shed 0.85 per cent. (Agencies)

Max Financial Services has raised stake in its life insurance arm by buying a portion from Axis Bank for ₹153 crore. MFS has acquired 0.74 per cent additional stake in its subsidiary, Max Life Insurance Company Ltd (Max Life), comprising 14,170,817 equity shares from Axis Bank, for a consideration of approximately ₹153.33 crore. Read more

Sensex loses 409.73 points to close at 32,596.54. The Nifty ends below 10,000 for the first time this year at 9,998.05 (-116.70 points or -1.15 per cent).

Union Bank shares crack over 9%

Shares of Union Bank of India today tumbled over 9 per cent to hit a one-year low amid concerns over losses incurred in a Rs 1,394-crore loan fraud case. The stock plunged 9.13 per cent to Rs 86.05 to hit its 52-week low on BSE. On the NSE, shares of the company dove 9.13 per cent to hit its one-year low of Rs 86.05.

The CBI has booked a Hyderabad-based construction and infrastructure company for allegedly defrauding a consortium of eight banks to the tune of over Rs 1,394 crore, officials said on Thursday. Totem Infrastructure, which worked as a sub-contractor for several major infrastructure companies, and its promoters Tottempudi Salalith and Tottempudi Kavita were named in a CBI FIR, registered on the basis of a complaint from Union Bank of India, one of the eight banks, they said.

The bank alleged in the complaint that it suffered a loss of Rs 313.84 crore as the loans given to the company had become NPA in June, 2012. They said the total dues towards the consortium stand at Rs 1,394.43 crore.

The BSE had yesterday sought clarification from Union Bank of India with respect to news that CBI filed Rs 1,394 crore bank fraud case on UBI complaint -- PTI

Australia has abolished its popular employer-sponsored 457 visa programme, widely used by Indians, replacing it with new stringent programme that requires higher English-language proficiency and job skills. The 457 visa programme, used by over 95,000 foreign workers, majority of them Indians, was replaced on March 18 by a new Temporary Skills Shortage visa programme. Read more

Nifty Futures Strategy: Tread with caution and consider initiating fresh long positions only if the contract moves beyond 10,025 levels with a fixed stop-loss. Read more

Oil shakes off looming US/China trade stand-off

Oil prices rose by around 1 per cent on Friday, pushed up by Saudi plans for OPEC and Russian-led production curbs introduced in 2017 to be extended into 2019 to further tighten the market.

The rise in oil prices defied global stock markets, which slumped on the back of worries about a trade stand-off between the United States and China. Gold, seen as a safe haven in times of economic turmoil, rallied to a two-week high on Friday. Read more

OPEC crude output fell in February to 32.1 million bpd. File Photo

At about 1.20 pm, the Sensex pared some of its losses but was still down 356 points or 1.08 points at 32,650.21. The NSE Nifty was hovering at the crucial 10,000 support level. It was down 113 points or 1.12 per cent at 10,001.75.

Select IT counters lent support as Infosys rose 0.8 per cent and HCL Tech climbed 1.6 per cent.

Bank Nifty continued to trade down (-1.82%). Nifty Metal slumped 3.02 %. Nifty PSU Bank index slipped 3.18%, Realty lost 2.7% while Private Bank index was down 1.75 per cent.

Sensex 30 at 1.20 pm

Sensex movers and shakers at 1.20 pm

The Sensex and the Nifty dived 1.5 per cent each on Friday in the post noon session.

At about 12.20 pm, the broader NSE index dropped 1.54 per cent or 155.30 points  to 9,959.45 while the benchmark BSE index fell 1.53 per cent or 504.29 points to 32,501.98.

“Markets are reacting in line with global markets. The biggest fear right now is how this trade war will pan out and how it will impact global trade and economy,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Securities. ”There is also a chance that US may put more tariffs on certain other countries or products where they don't see reciprocal benefits being given.”

The NSE index fell below the 10,000 level for the first time this year and was trading much below the 200-day simple moving average of 10,172.7.

“We are now falling to the next support area which is there between 9,950 and 9,850,” said Shrikant Chouhan, senior vice president, equity technical research at Kotak Securities. “Market should stop and reverse from here and should give a decent pullback to the entire fall.”

Lenders were the biggest drag, with the Nifty Bank index hitting its lowest since September 2017. ICICI Bank Ltd dropped 2.95 per cent, while HDFC Bank Ltd fell 1.42 per cent.

Metal stocks were also down with the Nifty metal index declining 3.59 per cent to its lowest since September 25, 2017.

Chinese steel futures dropped more than 6 per cent to their lowest in more than eight months, while iron ore fell to its lowest in nearly nine months.

Hindalco Industries Ltd was among the top losers on the NSE index, falling to its lowest since July 2017. Tata Steel Ltd plunged to its lowest since Aug 2017.

Only seven stocks were trading in the green on the Nifty 50 index, with HCL Technologies Ltd up 1.4 per cent.

Sensex gainers :  Infosys (+0.75%), Coal India (+0.48%), Asian Paints (+0.20%) and NTPC (+0.18%).

Global markets

Heated rhetoric between the United States and China over import tariffs has led to global trade war fears. US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese goods including steel, although the measures have a 30-day consultation period. In retaliation, China unveiled plans to impose tariffs on up to $3 billion of US imports.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 2.4 per cent, tracking a huge overnight fall in the US markets. -- Reuters

63 Moons Technologies slumps on CBI raid reports

Shares of 63 Moons Technologies Ltd dived as much as 15.7 per cent to Rs 82 rupees, their lowest since December 7, 2017. The stock posted its biggest intra-day percentage loss since March 14.

According to media reports, the Central Bureau of Investigation conducted raids at company office, founder Jignesh Shah's residence, and others regarding the MCX IPO case. Over 1.9 million shares changed hands, compared with 30-day average of 571,654 shares. Up to Thursday's close, the stock is up 25 per cent in 12 months. (Reuters)

Lokeshwarri SK is Associate Editor and Head of Research Business Line

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Equities continued to trend down amid a global selloff after US President Donald Trump imposed $60 billion tariffs on Chinese imports -- a move that has fuelled fears of a global trade war.

At about 11 am, the Sensex was down 369.59 points or 1.12 per cent at 32,636.68. The gauge had lost 129.91 points in the previous session.

The NSE Nifty too continued to trade below the crucial 10,000 mark by diving 119.20 points or 1.18 per cent to 9,995.55.

Barring IT and Teck, all the BSE sectoral indices, led by metal, realty, banking and capital goods stocks, were trading in the red, falling up to 2.73 per cent.

Top laggards were Yes Bank, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, SBI, and Hero MotoCorp, falling by up to 3.35 per cent.

Infosys, M&M, Coal India offered some support.

Investor sentiment turned extremely bearish, in line with sharp losses on the Wall Street and Asian markets, on growing fears of a global trade war after Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing drawing up a list of retaliatory measures, brokers said.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued selling on domestic bourses. On a net basis, they sold shares worth Rs 1,065.99 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 1,127.78 crore on Friday, provisional data showed.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei fell 3.54 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2.78 per cent in early deals. The Shanghai Composite index dropped by 3.06 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2.93 per cent lower yesterday. -- PTI

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The Sensex slumped 414 points or 1.25 per cent to 32,592.12 at about 9.45 am. The Nifty was down 136 points or 1.35 per cent at 9,978.60.  All the Nifty constituents were in the red. Hindalco (-4.36%) was the top loser on the Nifty. It was followed by YES Bank, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and Vedanta.

The Sensex 30 at about 9.45 am

Sensex 30 at 9.45 am

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, RIL, HDFC weigh on Sensex.

Who is dragging the Sensex down?

Stocks tumble, bonds and yen gain as trade war fears drive rush to safety

The rumblings of a global trade war sent shivers through stock and currency markets on Friday after US President Donald Trump announced long-promised tariffs on Chinese goods and China retaliated with a pledge to fight to the end any such war.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.1 per cent as stocks across the region dropped. Shanghai shares were down 3.2 per cent. Read more

File photo of US President Donald Trump.

ICICI Securities IPO

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The Sensex and the Nifty fell on Friday  in line with Asian markets as rumblings of a global trade war sent shivers through stock and currency markets after US President Donald Trump announced long-promised tariffs on Chinese goods and China retaliated with a pledge to fight to the end any such war.

The Sensex opened 355.38 points lower at 32,650.89 against Thursday's close of 33,006.27. Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 145.95 points to 9,968.80 against Thursday's close of 10,114.75.

Day Trading Guide for March 23

Supports and resistances for Nifty 50 futures and seven key stocks that can help in your intra-day trading. Click on the link to read the full technical view

₹1868 • HDFC Bank

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Inox Wind (₹108.5)

The stock of Inox Wind has been in a long-term downtrend since encountering resistance at ₹480 in May 2015. Significant long-term resistance at ₹150 capped the stock’s rally in the months of December 2017 and January 2018. Overall, the short-term outlook is bearish for the stock.  Click to read full technical view

NSE stock futures hit 5-1/2-month low

NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore Exchange dropped as much as 1.4 per cent to their lowest since October 11, 2017, indicating losses for the Indian stock markets. Global stock markets slid as investors rushed to safe havens such as govt bonds after US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China, although the measures have a 30-day consultation period.

Investors fear that the US measures could escalate into a trade war, with potentially dire consequences for global economy

In retaliation against US tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminium products, China unveiled plans to impose tariffs on up to $3 bln of US imports.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 2.1 per cent, while S&P 500 e-mini futures slipped 0.62 per cent.  -- Reuters

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