Markets plunge sharply; top factors

NEW DELHI: Benchmark equity indices cracked over 1 per cent in early trade on Tuesday amid heavy selling in index heavyweights following a couple of subdued macroeconomic data, thus pronouncing the slowdown fears. The 30-share Sensex tanked as much as 444 points to 36,888, while the 50-share Nifty index dropped 137 points to 10,886.Going by the buzz, here are top domestic factors which are keeping bears mauling on Dalal Street:Subdued GDP printMarket sentiment got impacted after the country’s economic growth on Friday slumped for the fifth straight quarter to an over six-year low of 5 per cent in the three months ended June. According to ICICI Bank, the lower than expected GDP print indicates that the slowdown is more pervasive, underscoring the need for coordinated monetary and fiscal policy actions.Weak core and other dataMood remained cautious after the growth of eight core industries dropped to 2.1 per cent in July, mainly due to contraction in coal, crude oil and natural gas production, according to a government data released on Monday. Meanwhile, the country’s manufacturing sector activity declined to its 15-month low in August. The IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined to 51.4 in August, its lowest mark since May 2018, from 52.5 in July.Falling rupee and FII outflowsThe rupee on Tuesday tanked by 64 paise to 72-mark against the US dollar following weak macroeconomic data and sustained outflows by foreign portfolio investors (FPI). Overseas investors offloaded a net amount of Rs 5,920 crore from the domestic capital markets in August despite the government rolled back enhanced surcharge on FPIs last week. In July, they had pulled out a net amount of Rs 2,985.88 crore from the capital markets.Auto salesMost of the auto counters were trading in the red following subdued auto sales figures for August. Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Maruti Suzuki were down up to 2.61 per cent. While Maruti reported a 33 per cent drop in August sales at 1,06,413 units, sale of passenger vehicles by Tata Motors fell 58 per cent during the month under review. 70954399

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