Andrew L Dcunha
Mumbai, Aug 18: Indian markets today witnessed massive selling pressure as fears of global growth slowing down weighed on investor sentiment. The markets slipped over 2% in the last leg of trade following heavy selling in front-line IT and banking shares. The IT index lost 4% and The Bankex is down by 3.51% The Nifty cracked the 5,000-mark, and touched a low of 4,932 during the last half an hour of trade and closed near day’s low at 4,944, down 113 points and the Sensex ended at 16,469, down 371 points. Global macro concerns and the Indian central bank's resolve to tame inflation even if it comes at the cost of economic growth are two of the primary reasons behind the poor performance of the stock market in recent times.
US stock futures slumped on Thursday, as fears over global growth prospects and Europe’s ongoing sovereign debt woes weighed on equity markets around the world. European stocks saw heavy pressure, tracking losses in Asian markets amid worries over stalling global growth. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.3% to 8,943.76. Hang Seng Index shed 1.3% and China’s Shanghai Composite declined 1.6% .
Inflation numbers
India’s food price index rose 9.03% and the fuel price index climbed 13.13% in the year to 6 August, government data on Thursday showed. In the previous week, annual food and fuel inflation stood at 9.90% and 12.19% respectively. The primary articles index was up 11.64%, compared with an annual rise of 12.22% a week earlier.
Rupee falls to more than 6-month low
The rupee slid to a more than 6-month low on Thursday, dragged by strong dollar demand from oil importers and weak local shares, with losses in Asian currencies also weighing. The rupee was trading at Rs 45.68 to the dollar at the time of writing..
Gold continue its record breaking run
Gold prices today touched an all-time high of Rs 26,840 per 10 grams here on sustained buying by investors and stockists. Gold of 99.9 and 99.5% purity advanced by Rs 160 each to Rs 26,840 and Rs 26,720 per 10 grams, respectively. The metal has gained Rs 580 per 10 grams in the last two trading sessions. Silver also moved up Rs 61,300 per kg on increased speculative buying supported by increased off take from industrial units
Andrew L D Cunha, Managing Director, WinWin Fin Advisory Pvt. Ltd. Mangalore. Email: finadvisoryltd@yahoo.com
