Markets Slashed After Spate Of Holidays

The Indian markets closed today's trades at the lowest point of the day. Both the broader indices closed the day down by more than 1.5%. This was on the back of a 4-day close, after which the markets reacted to the global economic events that happened last week. All the sectors closed in the red zone, except Healthcare, which closed marginally in the green zone. Metals and Capital Goods closed the session down more than 3%. Others like Power, Bankex, Consumer Durables, etc. closed the day down more than 1.50%.

Other Asian markets also closed in the negative territory, with Hang Seng and Shanghai down almost 1%, while Nikkei closed the day down 1.47%. As per media reports, Nikkei closed in the red after one of the major Japanese electronics makers, Sony, forecasted its fourth straight annual loss and reports followed that it may slash about 10,000 jobs (around 6% of its workforce).

The European markets are closed for the day on the back of the Easter holidays.

Dow Jones Futures is currently trading 103 points or 0.80% down at 12875, indicating a negative sentiment in the US markets.

Back home, the Metals pack continued its lacklustre performance for the day on the back of speculations that the financial performance of the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) may not be as per the market's expectations. Hindalco and Sterlite Industries closed down 5.18% and 4.34% respectively. The Capital Goods heavyweights also closed lower down 3.71% and 3.50% respectively. Auto stocks also took a beating, with Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, etc. closing down in the range of 1.26%-2.59%. On the other hand, there was a short gainers list of the index stocks, with Cipla, HUL, Bajaj Auto, DLF and Bharti Airtel closing on the higher side.

Aanjaneya Lifecare closed 5.78% lower at Rs 521, despite its debut new fiscal with global recognition. Alstom T&D India closed 1.27% lower, despite winning a product package order worth Rs 740 million.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, was negative. Out of the 3262 stocks traded on the BSE, 1860 declined, 1271 advanced and 131 remained unchanged.

In conclusion, we expect the markets to continue to remain volatile. We don’t see any major overhaul in the investor sentiment in these volatile market conditions.