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Sensex Opens Lower; Automobiles and Banking Stocks Under Pressure
Fri, 15 May 09:30 am

Asian stock markets are lower today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares fall. The Shanghai Composite is flat while the Hang Seng and the Nikkei 225 are trading down by 0.3%. Wall Street surged on Thursday as investors weighed the prospect of economic recovery against bellicose remarks from President Donald Trump regarding US-China trade and a whistleblower's dire warnings about the US response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Back home, India share markets opened lower. The BSE Sensex is trading down by 180 points while the NSE Nifty is trading down by 42 points. Both, the BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index opened up by 0.4%.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with oil & gas stocks and metal stocks witnessing buying interest. Automobiles stocks and banking stocks are trading in the red.

Moving on, gold prices are currently trading up 1.5% at Rs 46,654.

The rupee is currently trading at 75.48 against the US$.

The rupee slipped 10 paise to close at 75.56 against the US dollar yesterday, tracking weak domestic equities.

Market participants were concerned about the fiscal deficit concerns over the Rs 20-trillion economic stimulus package as there is still no clarity on how the package would be financed.

Moreover, investors are concerned over foreign fund outflows and the impact of coronavirus cases on the economy.

The local unit opened weak at 75.57, and finally settled at 75.56 against the US dollar, down 10 paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.46 against the US dollar on Wednesday.

On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, the rupee has depreciated sharply against the US dollar. While it started the calendar year 2020 at 71.28 against the US dollar, it is currently trading at 75.56 against the US dollar.

YTD Performance of the USD/INR

In a recent article titled The Sharp Fall in Indian Rupee: 6 Points to Know, we dive deeper and look at the factors behind rupee's depreciation.

We also reached out to Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, who is closely tracking the Indian rupee in the current scenario. Here's what he has to say...

  • The onset of Corona virus has not been kind to the INR.

    The Rupee futures (USDINR) opened in March at 72.36 and have closed at 76.61 on April 09 2020. That is a decline of 5.87% in 6 short weeks.

    The implications of the same will be widespread. India is a net importing Country. Everything that we import will now be more expensive. Approximately two thirds of all our imports are fossil fuels. Fuels are what we call multiplier effect commodities. If fuel prices rise at the petrol pumps, everything from fruits, vegetables, grains to dairy and poultry products get expensive.

    That impact will be felt at a later date. I expect the trickle down effect to start appearing in prices after the April-June quarter is over.

    I have already factored in this aspect in my statistical data model and plan to identify such events to generate profitable trading opportunities for my WCA plan subscribers.

Vijay has also talked about the Indian currency in a special edition podcast from Investor Hour. He shares what's around the corner for Indian rupee and how should position oneself for potential gains.

You can listen the entire episode here...


Moving on to the news from pharma sector. Unichem Laboratories received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from United Stated Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) on 13 May 2020 for our Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) facility at Roha.

The USFDA conducted the inspection of our Roha facility from 17 to 21 February 2020.

Unichem Laboratories share price opened up by 8.1%.

In another development, Biocon witnessed a whopping 42% decline in its consolidated net profit to during March 2020 (Q4FY20) period.

Similarly, EBITDA was down by 11%. Consolidated revenue, however, registered a rise of 6% compared to last fiscal.

Q4FY20 witnessed a muted growth due to operational challenges including one-time COVID-19 related impact on biologics business. Small molecules and research services businesses, however, delivered robust growth of 15% and 14%, respectively.

On a full-year basis, the company reported a revenue growth of 15% led by a strong performance by Biologics which grew by 29%, small molecules by 18% and research services by 10%.

Biocon share price opened the day down by 1.1%.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary


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