Sensex on longest losing streak in three months

Rupee hit a fresh low beyond 71.50 against US dollar

New Delhi: Indian stocks extended their decline to the fifth session after Sensex fell 154 points today, dragged down by FMCG and banking stocks. The Nifty suffered 62-point loss to settle at 11,520. This was the longest streak losing streak of Sensex in over three months. Among FMCG stocks, ITC fell 1% while HUL declined 2.8%. SBI fell 3.2%, IndusInd Bank declined 2.3% and ICICI Bank dropped 1.7% to be among top losers. IT stocks continued to outperform as rupee hit a fresh low beyond 71.50 against US dollar. TCS, Infosys and Wipro rose between 1.5% and 2.5%.

3:30 pm: Indian rupee touched a fresh record low against US dollar today as emerging market currencies declined amid continued concern over trade relations and the turmoil in Argentina and Turkey. The rupee was trading at 71.53 a dollar, down 0.45%, from its Monday’s close of 71.21. The home currency opened at 71.24 a dollar and touched a low of 71.54 a dollar.

1:15 pm: Hathway Cable and Datacom shares surge 15%. American streaming service Netflix Inc. has partnered with cable broadband provider Hathway to provide consumers access to its content through the Hathway set-top box. The set-top box will come with a remote that has a separate Netflix button allowing users to launch the streaming service. Hathway subscribers will be able to pay for their Netflix subscription using their Hathway bill. Shares of Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited surged nearly 15%

1:00 pm: The Sensex and Nifty traded flat in early noon trade amid mixed Asian markets. The rupee recovered after hitting a fresh record low today while the 10-year bond yield rose to over four-year high. IT stocks outperformed today with the Nifty IT index was up 2%. On the other hand, banking, metal and FMCG stocks led the decline. Infosys shares traded 3% higher while TCS rose nearly 2%. Among FMCG stocks, ITC fell 1.3% while HUL dived 3.4%.

11:20 am: With a lobby of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) trying hard to get the proposed changes to KYC norms withdrawn, market regulator Sebi today said it is “preposterous and highly irresponsible” to claim that $75 billion will move out of India bmecause of the regulatory move. Some foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are believed to have earlier expressed concerns over the proposed changes in rules, for which Sebi has already granted more time.

10:30 am: TCS market cap surged past Rs 8 trillion mark first time on Tuesday, making it only the second Indian company to achieve this milestone after Reliance Industries Ltd. The stock touched a record high of Rs 2091 on BSE, and gained as much as 1.7% in intraday. Currently, its market cap is at Rs 8.01 trillion. So far this year it surged nearly 54.6%.

9:45 am: FMCG majors ITC and HUL were down over 1.5%. Other top Sensex losers included ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, coal India, Bajaj Auto, Vedanta and Adani Ports, down 1-2%. The Sensex was down around 70 points while Nifty was trading at 11,552, down 0.26%.

9:30 am: Jet Airways India Ltd fell 2% to Rs 280.60 after rating agency Icra cut its long term rating to to ‘BB’ from ‘BB+’ . The rating agency gives a negative outlook, citing significant rise in jet fuel prices and no corresponding increase in air fares, which impacted the financial performance of the company.

IT stocks gain as rupee hits fresh record low. Wipro Ltd rose 1.3%, TCS gains 0.7%, Infosys Ltd 0.6%, Tech Mahindra Ltd 1.5%.

8:55 am: Sensex and Nifty are set for a flat start with Singapore-traded SGX Nifty trading slightly lower at 11,629. The global cues are weak with Asian markets down in early trade, amid growing concerns over escalating international trade disputes. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2% after European shares ended mostly flat. US markets were closed on Monday for Labor Day. Growing turbulence in Argentina once again focused global attention on emerging markets. The troubles in Turkey and Argentina, which has seen its peso collapse in recent weeks, are rattling markets on fears their crises could spread.

US and Canadian officials are still due to resume talks Wednesday on a revised NAFTA deal, after they failed to reach an agreement last week. That led Trump to tweet that he would leave his northern neighbours out of a final pact. Mexico and the US have already struck a deal. On Friday comes the key US jobs data, which could give a clue to the Federal Reserve’s plans for raising interest rates.

Global oil prices rose to the highest in almost two months in London as Iranian crude exports tumble, with Asian buyers taking fewer cargoes from the Middle Eastern nation weeks before US sanctions take full effect. Oil rebounded last month as declining shipments from Iran added to concerns over Venezuela’s plunging production, helping offset concerns that a trade war between the U.S. and China will dampen demand.

Brent futures for November settlement closed 51 cents higher at $78.15 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London on Monday, the highest since July 10.

Back in the Indian markets, the yield on the 10-year benchmark bond on Monday touched 8% during the day and closed at a nearly four-year high, as a continued surge in crude oil prices and trade war worried investors. The rupee ended at record low of 71.21 to a dollar, down 0.29%, from its Friday’s close of 71.

8:45 am | Opening bell: Cues to look out for before trading today

Asian stock indexes were trading negative on Tuesday morning as markets remained uncertain about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and a possible escalation of the U.S.-China trade war. It should be noted that the US market was closed for Labour Day.

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(Harsha Jethmalani/Mint)

With Agency Inputs