Sensex nears bear mkt zone, below 25K after 15 months

The continuing slide in the Chinese markets - combined with weakness of the rupee, strong selling by FIIs and below-normal monsoon - led to a 308-point loss on Monday in the sensex which ended at 24,894, its lowest close in 15 months. Ending below the psychologically important 25,000 mark, the Indian market is now just 3.5% shy of a bear market territory. 

In market parlance, a slide of 20% from a high takes the index into bear territory. On March 4 this year, the sensex had touched an all-time peak of 30,000. A slide of 20% from this level would take the sensex into a bear territory, which is from 24,000, or just 900 points below the current close. The sensex is also just 4% above 23,971, the level it was on May 15, 2014, a day before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results that brought the Narendra Modi-led NDA government to power Stock Market Trading Tips

Since the day sensex peaked at the 30K mark intra-day, and the BSE's market capitalisation touched a record level of Rs 106.1 lakh crore a day earlier, investors have lost $225 billion, or about Rs 14 lakh crore with the BSE's current market cap as of Monday standing at Rs 92.1 lakh crore. During the same time, foreign funds have net sold Indian equities worth about $3 billion, if one excludes about $2.3 billion that FIIs brought in when Daiichi Sankyo sold its 8.9% stake in Sun Pharma through a block deal on April 21. On Monday, FIIs net sold stocks worth Rs 827 crore. 

On Monday, the sensex opened higher as the Chinese market showed a flat trend in the morning and remained within a short range till late in the session. After the Shanghai index closed more than 2% lower, the sensex too slid sharply and closed over 1% down. According to Vijay Singhania, founder-director, Trade Smart Online, a discount broking firm, global sentiments have taken a big precedence over domestic factors. "And in the next two weeks, several potential market-moving news, including the possibility of a US interest rate hike, are expected. Moreover, markets are increasingly getting concerned about the slowdown in the Chinese economy and we believe that the sell-off in the domestic markets will continue until China stabilises or clarity emerges on US interest rates," Singhania said Indian stock market astrology prediction

Other than the fresh weakness in the Chinese economy, there were news reports about further deterioration of the monsoon rains. As of Monday, data from the Indian Meteorological Department showed that so far rains are 14% below normal, and the Met now sees the season ending with 18% deficit. This too impacted sentiment on Dalal Street. 

On Monday, among the leading stocks which led the sensex slide were Axis Bank, down 3.9% at Rs 451, Vedanta, down 3.6% at Rs 90 and ICICI Bank, down 3.3% at Rs 249. Dealers said that a below-normal monsoon, combined with weak credit growth and high non-performing assets, are taking a toll on the banks' business which, in turn, is pulling the stocks down. Of the 30 sensex stocks, 26 closed in the red Commodity Market Astrology Tips