The growth data, which came in after market hours on Monday, showed the economy grew at 7 per cent in April-June, from 7.5 per cent in the preceding quarter. Not just that, Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI stood at 52.3 in August, as against 52.7 in July, a sign that the sector grew at a slower pace.
Things were no better in China, with two manufacturing PMIs, including a government one, reinforcing fears that the Chinese economy is cooling more sharply than expected. The BSE 30-share was bound for <g data-gr-id="32">south</g>, hitting a low of 25,579.88 before ending at 25,696.44, down 586.65 points, or 2.23 <g data-gr-id="31">per cent</g>.
The NSE Nifty too ended below the key 7,800-mark, tumbling 185.45 points, or 2.33 <g data-gr-id="41">per cent</g>, at 7,785.85. Sentiment stayed decidedly muted after IMF MD Christine Lagarde's predicted a moderate global growth. "This reflects two forces: a weaker than expected recovery in advanced economies, and a further slowdown in emerging economies, especially in Latin America," Lagarde, on a trip to Indonesia, added. "Markets shut the day with severe cuts on the back of weak global and domestic macro data. China’s weak PMI and India’s lower GDP growth dampened sentiment. Sell-off was mainly triggered by banks, especially PSU ones, on concerns of pressure on margins," said Gaurav Jain, Director, Hem Securities.
Chances of a possible interest rate hike by the US Fed and global crude showing signs of a <g data-gr-id="33">tick-up</g> ensured there was more pain for already battered Asian stocks. The selling was across the board, with banking taking a big hit after HDFC Bank lowered its base rate, sparking fears that others may follow suit, which could pressure margins. Other than banking, metal, realty, capital goods, PSU, auto and consumer durables took severe beating.
Axis Bank lost heavily, down 5.24 <g data-gr-id="35">per cent</g>, followed by Hindalco, Tata Steel and <g data-gr-id="34">Bhel</g>. The BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices were not left untouched, losing 2.17 per cent and 1.96 per cent, respectively. China's Shanghai Composite dived 1.23 per cent. European markets too were down in their opening trade. Japan's Nikkei led the Asian share slump, falling 3.84 per <g data-gr-id="46">cent,</g> while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 2.24 <g data-gr-id="36">per cent</g>. Sun Pharma was the only bright spot, up 0.34 <g data-gr-id="37">per cent</g>.
Meanwhile, foreign investors net sold shares of Rs 551.19 crore on Monday, according to provisional data. Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO, said: "Today local equities traded weak and lost over two <g data-gr-id="43">per cent</g> taking cues from the global sell-off, which forced Nifty to trade as low as 7,747."
`Rs rebounds by 26p to 66.22 against $
Snapping its 2-day losing streak, the rupee recovered by 26 paise to close at 66.22 against the US dollar on Tuesday on fresh selling of the greenback by banks and exporters in overseas markets amidst fall in equities. The rupee opened higher at 66.38 against Monday’s closing level of 66.48 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and hovered in a range of 66.18 and 66.46 before concluding at 66.22, showing a gain of 26 paise or 0.39 <g data-gr-id="100">per cent</g>. The domestic currency has already dropped 44 paise, or 0.67 <g data-gr-id="101">per cent</g>, in the previous two sessions.
Govt ups gold import tariff to $369/ 10 gm
The government on Tuesday raised the import tariff value on gold to $369 per 10 grams taking strong cues from the global market. The tariff value on silver was however reduced to $471 per kg. In the second fortnight of August, the import tariff value on gold was $363 per 10 grams and on silver it was $499 per kg.