The Indian markets despite a good start could not hold up to their gains and ended lower for the fifth straight day in last session. Today, there is likely to be recovery in the markets with a positive start tailing the global mood. Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has asked taxmen to step up collections in view of fiscal deficit threatening to exceed the target. There will be some cheer for the gold and jewellary related stocks, as the Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri has pitched for relaxation in curbs on gold imports citing improved current account deficit. Gold imports fell to 19.3 tonnes in November from a high of 162 tonnes in May in the wake of a series of curbs by both the government and the RBI. There will be some buzz in PSU stocks as well, as the government plans to sell stakes in Indian Oil Corporation and Engineers India this month and in BHEL in February as it rushes to meet its disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore, it will further offload equity in Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in March.
The US markets made a good comeback and ended firmly higher in last session on report that US trade deficit narrowed by much more than anticipated in the month of November. The Asian markets have made a jubilant start taking cues from the US markets and some of the indices are up by about a percent in early deals ahead of the release of Federal Reserve minutes.
Back home, volatility ruled the roost as key domestic benchmarks once again ended the volatile day of trade in the red terrain extending their losing streak for the fifth consecutive session on Tuesday. The frontline indices, after a positive start, entered into the negative territory and even went on to test important psychological 20,650 (Sensex) and 6,150 (Nifty) levels. The key gauges got solid support around those intraday low levels as they convalesced from thereon. The indices tried hard to move back into the positive territory and even got there in last leg of trade but only for a brief period, as investors took the opportunity to cash in on the bounce back in dying hours of trade. Also investors remained on sidelines ahead of macro-economic data and third quarter corporate earnings due later in the week. Selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) too impacted market sentiments. FIIs sold shares worth a net Rs 318.91 crore on January 6, 2014. On the global front, European markets traded with traction in early deals after data showed retail sales in Germany rose more-than-expected in November, however Asian pacific counters ended mixed. Back home, investors remained concerned on the SBI’s internal report, that the revised FY’2011-12 gross domestic product (GDP) growth is likely to fall to 6 percent on account of a slump in manufacturing led by weak demand and difficulty in accessing funds. The first revised estimate of GDP for FY’12 was 6.2 percent and the second revised estimate for FY'12 is scheduled to be released on January 31. Some pessimism also came in from currency front as Indian rupee was at 62.37 per dollar at the time of equity markets closing versus its previous close of 62.31 per dollar, tracking largely steady regional stock markets. Meanwhile, shares of telecom companies like, Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communication edged lower with court ruling, allowing the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) to audit books of accounts of private telecom companies. Finally, the BSE Sensex plunged by 94.06 points or 0.45%, to settle at 20693.24, while the CNX Nifty lost 29.20 points or 0.47% to settle at 6,162.25.
