Bears ruling D-Street as losses extend in fourth week

Indian equity markets experienced their fourth consecutive week of decline, ending on August 18. This decline was driven by weak global cues, including concerns about higher interest rates, a slowdown in the Chinese economy, rising inflation, a weakening currency, and higher bond yields. These factors led investors to exit from the equity markets.

During the week, the BSE Sensex lost 0.57%, or 373.99 points, closing at 64,948.66. The Nifty50 also fell by 0.60%, or 118.1 points, settling at 19,310.20. Notable declines were observed in the BSE Large-cap Index, which dropped by 0.7%. FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa), Indus Towers, Info Edge India, Hindalco Industries, Marico, Zomato, and JSW Steel recorded falls ranging from 4% to 9%.

The BSE Mid-cap Index slipped by 0.5%, with Jindal Steel & Power, Muthoot Finance, Steel Authority of India, Vodafone Idea, Nuvoco Vistas Corporation, ABB India, IDBI Bank, and Gland Pharma being major contributors to the decline. Meanwhile, stocks like Supreme Industries, CG Power and Industrial Solutions, JSW Energy, Adani Power, Bank Of India, REC, Max Financial Services, and Rajesh Exports managed to gain ground.

The BSE Small-cap index remained relatively unchanged. Hindustan Oil Exploration Company, Rico Auto, Sree Rayalaseema Hi Strength, Lloyds Steels Industries, Universal Cables, GE Power India, Pix Transmissions, and Globus Spirits faced losses ranging from 12% to 32%. On the positive side, DB Realty, Cochin Shipyard, BF Utilities, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Digispice Technologies, Technocraft Industries (India), Ddev Plastiks Industries, Balaji Telefilms, and Johnson Controls -Hitachi Air Conditioning India witnessed gains of 21% to 42%.

Among the BSE Sensex components, Tata Consultancy Services experienced the largest decline in market capitalization, followed by HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, and ITC. Conversely, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, and Reliance Industries saw the greatest increases in market capitalization.

In terms of sectors, the BSE Metal index registered a 4% drop, the BSE Telecom index fell by 2%, the BSE Oil & Gas index declined by 1.2%, while the BSE Power index managed a modest gain of 0.5%.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to sell equities for the fourth consecutive week, offloading equities worth Rs 3,379.31 crore.

On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,892.3 crore during the week. In the ongoing month, FIIs have sold equities worth Rs 10,925.84 crore, while DIIs have purchased equities worth Rs 9,245.86 crore.

The Indian rupee faced pressure, weakening beyond the 83 mark for the first time in ten months. This drop was attributed to losses in the global equities and currencies markets. By August 18, the domestic currency had fallen by 25 paise for the week, closing at 83.10 compared to its August 11 closing of 82.85.