Sensex, Nifty record lowest close in over a year

Banks lead the decline after weak economic data raise concern of pick up in credit growth.

Markets finished the session on a dismal note with Sensex closing at its lowest level since August 2014 as weak GDP data coupled with worries over China’s economic slowdown and fears of an interest rate hike by the US fed triggered a fresh round of selling across the bourses.  

The Sensex closed 243 points lower at 25,454 and the Nifty dropped 69 points lower at 7,717. In the broader markets, BSE Midcap index ended in line with large caps and lost 0.8% while BSE Smallcap index gained 0.2%. The market breadth ended weak on the BSE with 1,396 declines versus 1,219 advances.  

Back home, the government accepted recommendation of the AP Shah Panel report stating that the minimum alternate tax (MAT) should not be imposed on overseas portfolio investors retrospectively.  

Market view  

“The indices continued to drag lower today on the back of the last hour selling. The session was volatile, however, the global markets seemed to be a lot more stable compared to last week’s volatility. The breadth of the market was flat almost 1:1, and USDINR volatility has also subdued. I think this indicates that there could be a chance of a short term bottom in the indices, provided the global markets don’t crack again,” said Kunal Bothra, Head-Advisory, LKP Securities.  

“Technically the previous low on Nifty i.e. 7660 could be termed as a good support on Nifty spot, from a short term view” he said.  

Auto pack  

Maruti Suzuki India slipped 0.7%. However, the company’s domestic sales rose 8.6% to 106,781 units in August, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.  

Mahindra & Mahindra lost 3.6% after the company said that its total tractor sales declined 22% to 11,699 units in August 2015 over August 2014.  

Tata Motors lost 1.7% after the company's monthly sales numbers fell below market's expectations.  

Hero MotoCorp shares fell over 1.7% after the company reported 13.97 per cent drop in its total two-wheeler sales at 4.80 lakh units in August 2015 over August 2014.  

Bajaj Auto has posted 2% rise in its total sales during August with the company selling 3.42 lakh units versus 3.37 lakh units in the same month of last year. However, the stock pared its early gains and ended 1.7% lower.

Oil exploration stocks

Shares of private oil exploration companies rallied on the bourses in otherwise weak market, after the Cabinet approved auction of 69 small and marginal oil fields of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India to private and foreign firms.  

Jindal Drilling & Industries, Selan Exploration Technology, Hindustan Oil Exploration Company, Dolphin Offshore Enterprises and Aban Offshore surged between 3%-20% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Buzzing stocks  

On the sectoral front, barring BSE IT, FMCG and Realty indices, all other indices ended lower with BSE Capital Goods, Bankex, Power indices down between 1-2%.  

Banking stocks reeled under pressure after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued draft guidelines on Tuesday for its proposed plan to change how banks calculate their lending rates. HDFC Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank lost between 0.5-3.5%.  

Tata Consultancy Service gained 2.5%while CMC surged over 2% after TCS said in a notice to BSE that Mumbai high court has sanctioned amalgamation of CMC with itself.  

FMCG major ITC which slumped in the recent past ended higher today by 1.5% on renewed buying interest.