Opening Bell: Sensex Drops Over 100 Points As Moody's Cuts India Outlook

Market benchmark BSE Sensex dropped over 100 points and the NSE Nifty slipped below the 12,000 mark on Friday after Moody’s Investors Service lowered India’s credit rating outlook citing concerns over the country’s economic growth. The rupee also depreciated 30 paise against the US dollar to trade at 71.27 in early session. The 30-share index was trading 102.30 points, or 0.25 per cent, lower at 40,551.44.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 28.25 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 11,983.80. Top losers in the Sensex pack included Sun Pharma, HUL, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, PowerGrid and RIL, shedding up to 1.69 per cent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, M&M, Tata Motors and ONGC rose up to 2.26 per cent. In the previous session, the 30-share Sensex ended 183.96 points, or 0.45 per cent up at its new all-time high of 40,653.74. Similarly, the Nifty ended with a gain of 46 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 12,012.05.

Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 926.60 crore in the capital market on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 635.59 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.

Despite positive cues from global markets and sustained foreign fund inflow, domestic equities turned negative after Moody’s Investors Service lowered the outlook on India’s credit ratings, traders said.

The agency has changed the outlook on India’s ratings to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’, saying there was increasing risks that economic growth will remain materially lower than the past.

While the government’s recent measures to support the economy should help to reduce the depth and duration of India’s growth slowdown, prolonged financial stress among rural households, weak job creation, and, more recently, a credit crunch among non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), have increased the probability of a more entrenched slowdown, it said.

Globally, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul started on a positive note after China hinted at a removal of tariffs in the long-running trade war with the US.

Shares on Wall Street too ended on a positive note on Thursday.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.16 per cent to USD 62.19 per barrel.