A bad day for Indian markets; Sensex down by 900 points while Nifty ends below 14k mark

At close, the Sensex was down 1.94% at 47,409.93, and the Nifty was down 1.91% at 13,967.50. About 1053 shares have advanced, 1809 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged. Nifty bank index traded red at Rs 30,284 down by 2.93%, while BSE Bankex ended at 34,334 down by the same percentage.

Amongst the top losers were- Axis Bank at Rs 632 down by 3.99%, followed by HDFC Bank at Rs 1,409 (-3.64%), Induslnd Bank at Rs 820 (-3.42%), ICICI Bank at Rs 522 (-2.92%), PNB at Rs 33 (-2.34%), SBI at Rs 275 (-1.89%),Bandhan Bank at Rs 303 (1.89%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank at Rs 1,765 (-1.66%). While all the major indices traded in the red, Bank of Baroda traded higher at Rs 74 adding 0.27%.

Nifty Financial Services ended at 14,723 down by 2.77%. Amongst the top losers were HDFC at Rs 2,467 down 3.31% followed by Cholamandalam at Rs 410 (-2.40%), Power Finance at Rs 111 (-2.36%), Indiabulls Hsg at Rs 197 (-1.76%),Bajaj Finance at Rs 9,126 (-0.79%).

Other key takeaways

India’s GDP to contract 8% in FY21: FICCI Survey
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to contract by 8 per cent in 2020-21, according to the latest round of FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey.

The annual median growth forecast by the industry body is based on responses from leading economists representing industry, banking and financial services sector. The survey was conducted in January. The median growth forecast for agriculture and allied activities has been pegged at 3.5 per cent for 2020-21.

Expert views on the latest IMF‘s GDP projection

Gaurav Garg, Head Research, CapitalVia Global Research Limited – Investment Advisor:
“The IMF on Tuesday projected an impressive 11.5% growth rate for India in 2021, making the country the only major economy of the world to register double-digit growth this year amidst the coronavirus pandemic. This projection could help the Indian market attract more foreign investors which could eventually help the economy to recover even faster.”

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services:
“IMF revising global GDP growth upwards to 5.5% and India’s growth to 11.5% in 2021 is good news. The sharp turnaround in growth will ensure that the current trend of impressive corporate results will sustain. On the negative side, we had two consecutive days of FII selling in the market. It appears that the market is a bit apprehensive of some budget tax proposals which may not be market-friendly.”

Gold Updates
COMEX gold trades 0.3% lower near $1845/oz after a 0.2% decline yesterday. Gold is pressurized by increasing debate about the US stimulus package and position squaring ahead of the Fed’s monetary policy meeting.

Technically, MCX Gold April is holding a resistance near 49500 levels where its immediate support is at 48900 levels. It could trade within these ranges. MCX Silver March is trading near 66500 level and above which will continue its bullish rally up to 67200-67900 levels. Support is at 65800-65000 levels.

Domestic gold and silver ended flat on Monday. Indian markets are shut on Tuesday on account of Republic Day holiday. Domestic bullion could trade flat-to-marginally lower this Wednesday morning, tracking the international prices.

Bank of Baroda Q3:
Company’s net profit was at Rs 1,061.1 crore in the quarter ended December 2020 against loss of Rs 1,407 crore in the same quarter last year. It net interest income (NII) was up 8.6% at Rs 7,749 crore versus Rs 7,132 crore, reported CNBC-TV18. Its gross NPA was at 8.48% versus 9.14% and net NPA was at 2.39% versus 2.51%, QoQ.

Rupee Updates
Indian rupee erased most of the intraday gains and ended near the day’s low level at 72.92 per dollar, amid profit booking saw in the domestic equity market.It opened flat at 72.94 per dollar against Monday’s close of 72.95 and traded between 72.78-72.94.