India’s equities fell for a fourth straight day, with investors piling into IT stocks that are considered relatively insulated from the country’s gloomy economic outlook.
The S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.8% in Mumbai. The benchmark index had its steepest slide in two weeks on Monday, sending it below the 50-day moving average, signalling to some investors that there are further losses to come. The NSE Nifty 50 Index dropped 0.9%. A gauge of IT companies rose 0.9%, while 16 out of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd dropped.
“The strong performance of IT stocks reflect investor’s concerns about economic growth, particularly since stocks are trading at levels close to where they were pre-pandemic,” said Chokkalingam G, chief investment officer at Equinomics Research & Advisory Ltd in Mumbai.
Until yesterday’s losses, the Sensex had surged 50% from its coronavirus pandemic-triggered low in March to within striking distance of the January record high even as Indian coronavirus cases continued to surge to the second-highest globally and the economy faces its steepest ever contraction.
As Indian stocks head toward their worst month in four, some equity funds may be diverted by a revival in initial public offerings. Computer Age Management Services Pvt Ltd aims to raise as much as Rs22.4bn ($305mn), while Chemcon Specialty Chemicals Pvt Ltd is seeking Rs1.65bn, with both offers closing today. Stock broker Angel Broking Ltd plans to raise Rs3bn in an offering through Thursday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond was little changed at about 6%, while the rupee weakened 0.3% to 73.5862 against the US dollar.
Reliance Industries Ltd was the biggest drag on the Sensex, losing 2%, while Maruti Suzuki India Ltd had the steepest fall, dropping 2.8%; Tata Consultancy Services Ltd provided the biggest boost to the index with a 2.4% gain.
Meanwhile the rupee depreciated 20 paise and settled at 73.58 (provisional) against the US dollar yesterday tracking negative domestic equities. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 73.50, then fell further and finally closed at 73.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 20 paise over its last close.
The rupee strengthened by 7 paise to close at 73.38 against the US dollar on Monday.
During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.38 and a low of 73.64 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04% to 93.61.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 341.86 points lower at 37,692.28 and broader NSE Nifty slipped 115.05 points to 11,135.50.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs539.81 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.65% to $41.71 per barrel.
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