Markets nosedive 6.2%

Mon, 24 Aug Closing

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Indian benchmark nosedived since the start of the session today and ended almost 6.2% lower despite some recovery. This was after China's Shanghai Composite Index closed 8.5% lower on Monday, while US equity-index futures signaled a fifth straight day of losses. The BSE-Sensex fell 1,624 points, while the NSE-Nifty slumped 491 points to 7,809. Midcaps and Small caps weren't sparred either. The S&P BSE Midcap plunged 7.8% while S&P BSE Smallcap fell 9%. All the sectoral indices were trading significantly in the red. Realty index plunged the most by 11.5%, followed by oil & gas 9.71%, infrastructure 8.77% and PSU 8.16%.

The 1,600-point fall in the Sensex today may just be the signs of things to come. And who knows, markets may well go down a good deal more? If it does, be prepared to see a lot more buy recommendations from us.

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Asian markets finished sharply lower today with shares in China leading the region. The Shanghai Composite is down 8.49% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng is off 5.17% and Japan's Nikkei 225 is lower by 4.61%. European markets are sharply lower today with shares in France off the most. The CAC 40 is down 2.43% while London's FTSE 100 is off 2.42% and Germany's DAX is lower by 2.25%. The rupee was trading at 66.51 against the US$ at the time of writing.

Power stocks languished in red with Torrent power Ltd and PTC India Ltd bearing majority of the brunt. According to a leading financial daily, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is planning to acquire the 5 decade old Sarni Thermal Power Station of Madhya Pradesh. The company already has presence in the state as it runs one of the largest thermal power stations -- Vindhyachal Thermal Power. Further, the company is also planning to seal a similar deal with Jharkhand government for its 770-megawatt (Mw) Patratu thermal power station in Ramgarh district in Jharkhand. NTPC is the largest power generating company in the country.

Oil & gas sector fell more than 9% in intraday trading. Cairn India and HPCL were the leading losers today. According to a leading business daily, The government will be selling 10% of its stake in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on August 24, 2015, to raise about Rs 95 bn. The government, which holds 68.60% interest in IOC, will sell 242.8 million equity shares through an offer for sale (OFS), the floor price of which will be announced on August 22, 2015. The government is targeting to raise Rs 695 bn from disinvestment in the current fiscal. Stake sale in IOC will be the fourth disinvestment this fiscal and the biggest so far. The earlier 3 stake sales had raised just over Rs 30 bn. The script of IOC ended the trading day down by 4% on the BSE.