Indian share markets trimmed their morning gains and finished in red due to heavy selling in realty stocks and metal stocks amid mixed global cues.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 95 points, while the NSE Nifty finished down 34 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Mid Cap and the S&P BSE Small Cap finished down by 0.6% and 0.7% respectively.
Indian markets are hovering around all-time high. On a price to earnings ratio comparison, the Sensex is placed third when it comes to most expensive emerging markets in the world.
India – The Third Most Expensive Emerging Market
The global markets are up due to increase in capital inflows. For instance, FII flows into India since January totaled Rs 437 billion. This clearly shows the current buoyancy is a result of global liquidity i.e. flowing money into the emerging markets.
With economy struggling on many fronts, the valuations look unsustainable, unless there is an earnings recovery soon.
Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.35%, while the Hang Seng & the Shanghai Composite fell 1.39% and 0.79% respectively. Meanwhile, European markets too were trading in red as uncertainty hung over the looming first round of France’s presidential election.
The rupee was trading at Rs 64.57 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 52.67 at the time of writing.
United Breweries share price and United Spirits share price fell around 3% and 2.6% respectively as liquor baron Vijay Mallya has been arrested in London.
The World Bank in latest report has stated that India’s GDP is expected to see uptick from 6.8% in 2016-2017 to 7.2% by current fiscal year and rise further to 7.5% in 2018-19 fiscal. It also forecasted that India’s economic growth will rise slowly to 7.7% in 2019-2020 supported by a recovery in private investments.
