Markets stay weak as global risks pile up

Moody's cutting India's 2018 GDP growth forecast added to the sombre mood, with no let-up in selling by participants ahead of May derivatives expiry, brokers said.

The BSE Sensex slipped over 43 points in volatile trade to end at 34,906.11, while the 50-share Nifty shed 18.95 points to finish at 10,614.35.

Asian markets nosedived after US President Donald Trump unexpectedly ratcheted up trade tensions with China.

The US imposed a hefty 25 per cent tariff on USD 50 billion worth of Chinese goods and tightened its noose against China's alleged theft of US' intellectual property rights.

Investors also reacted with caution after the populist parties' bid to take power in Italy collapsed, leading to speculations over the country's Euro membership.

The 30-share Sensex opened on a bearish note at 34,876.13 and slipped further to hit a low of 34,735.11 largely on sustained foreign fund outflows amid a global sell-off.

However, short-covering by speculators ahead of May derivatives expiry tomorrow and recovery in the rupee reversed the early losses, with the gauge scaling a high 35,017.45. It finally ended at 34,906.11, down 43.13 points, or 0.12 per cent.

The barometer had lost 216.24 points in the previous session.

The 50-share NSE Nifty too settled 18.95 points, or 0.18 per cent, lower at 10,614.35. During the session, it moved between 10,648.70 and 10,558.45.

Moody's Investors Service today cut India's 2018 growth forecast to 7.3 per cent from the previous estimate of 7.5 per cent, saying the economy is in cyclical recovery but higher oil prices and tighter financial conditions will weigh on the pace of acceleration.

"Market traded in a negative bias due to volatility in global market and it managed to trim some losses towards close owing to expiry led short covering.

"Q4FY18 GDP data will be unveiled tomorrow and the consensus is showing a growth of 7.4 per cent. Volatility in oil price and the impact on fiscal path are the major risk factors," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net of Rs 407.33 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 578.38 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

In the Sensex kitty, Tata Motors emerged as the worst performer by plunging 1.92 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank at 1.86 per cent.

Other laggards were Bajaj Auto (1.11 per cent), Axis Bank (1.10 per cent), L&T (1.08 per cent), Dr Reddy's (1.05 per cent), Adani Ports (1.01 per cent), HDFC Ltd (0.95 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (0.88 per cent), ONGC (0.85 per cent), Wipro Ltd (0.84 per cent), Sun Pharma (0.75 per cent), Asian Paints (0.70 per cent), Bharti Airtel (0.62 per cent), ITC Ltd (0.60 per cent), NTPC (0.30 per cent), Infosys (0.21 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (0.15 per cent) and TCS (0.14 per cent).

However, M&M was the top gainer, spurting 3.08 per cent on the back of encouraging earnings, followed by Coal India at 2.34 per cent.

Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HUL, Power Grid, SBI, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel and RIL too finished with gains.

Sector-wise, the BSE healthcare index shed 0.77 per cent, followed by infrastructure (0.71 per cent), capital goods (0.68 per cent), oil and gas (0.62 per cent), consumer durables (0.45 per cent), realty (0.16 per cent), PSU (0.12 per cent), teck (0.11 per cent), FMCG (0.10 per cent), auto (0.09 per cent) and IT (0.06 per cent).

Power, metal and banking indices ended in the positive zone, rising up to 0.20 per cent.

In the broader markets, the small-cap index fell 0.19 per cent, while the mid-cap gauge inched up 0.03 per cent.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.49 per cent, Japan's Nikkei shed 1.52 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 2.08 per cent. Stock market in Taiwan fell 1.30 per cent while Singapore shed 1.90 per cent.

European markets were mixed. Frankfurt was trading higher by 0.18 per cent, while Paris CAC 40 fell 0.74 per cent in their early deals. London's FTSE rose 0.09 per cent.