Indian Share Markets End Lower; Metal Stocks Top Losers

Indian share markets settled lower today led by a fall in the financial stocks after the rupee hit a record low of 70.32 per dollar. At the closing bell, BSE Sensex ended down by 188 points, while, NSE Nifty ended down by 50 points.

Except for healthcare stocks, IT stocks and automobile stocks, all sectoral indices ended the day in red with metal stocks and capital goods’ stocks leading the losers.

Globally, Asian stock markets finished lower today with shares in Hong Kong leading the region. The Hang Seng is down 0.8% while China’s Shanghai Composite is off 0.7% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 is lower by 0.1%. European markets are higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 0.6% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.5% and Germany’s DAX is up 0.3%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 70.23 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

After the Indian rupee fell to record low of 70-level, Union Minister Arun Jaitley stated that the country has comfortable foreign exchange reserves in order to deal with any undue volatility in the foreign exchange market.

He added that the developments in the currency market were being monitored closely to address any situation that might arise in the context of the unsettled international environment.

The Minister also said recent developments relating to Turkey have generated global risk aversion towards emerging market currencies and the strengthening of the dollar.

However, he said the country’s macro fundamentals remain resilient and strong. The Indian currency had crashed to a lifetime low of 70.32 on concerns over Turkey’s economic woes that have impacted various emerging markets, even as the US dollar gained strength against other currencies.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest data showed that its foreign exchange reserves were at US$402.70 billion in the week ended 3 August, down US$1.49 billion over the preceding week.