Bears strengthen their grip

Nifty50: 15,632 ▼-120 (-0.7%)
Sensex: 52,198 ▼-354 (-0.6%)

The markets opened with a gap-down and remained in the negative territory for the rest of the day. The advance:decline indicated broad-based selling as 40 of the Nifty50 stocks closed in the red.

Among the Nifty sectoral indices, all indices except FMCG were down, with Media (-2.5%) and Realty (-2.5%) being the top losers. Nifty FMCG (+0.1%) was the only index to close with a marginal rise. 

Here are the top stories of the day.

Asian Paints soars on robust profit growth

• Shares of India’s largest paint maker shot up 5.4% after it posted a 161% YoY growth in its consolidated net profit for the June quarter at ₹574 crore. During the same period, revenue from operations jumped 91% to ₹5,585 crore.
• The company posted all-round growth and doubled its revenues in the industrial and home improvement business segments. The company said that a steep rise in the cost of raw materials impacted margins despite price hikes. Going ahead, falling crude oil prices may augur well as crude oil and derivatives account for about half of the costs incurred by paint companies. 

Mastek rises after strong Q1 results

• Mumbai-based IT company Mastek recorded a 6.0% quarter-on-quarter rise in net profit to ₹80 crore for the June quarter. Meanwhile, revenue grew 6.9% to ₹516 crore. 
• The company has a 12-month order backlog of ₹1,177 crore, up 4.2% on a sequential basis. It believes that with increasing demand for digital services, strong order backlog and strategic investments will help it sustain the growth momentum. The stock rose to a lifetime high intraday but pared early gains to close flat today. It has gained over 100% so far this fiscal.

Oil prices slump 

• US crude oil prices plunged over 6% yesterday due to the fears of excess supply. On Sunday, OPEC and its allies set aside their differences and agreed to boost production from August this year. 
• Also, with the delta variant rapidly spreading across the world, investors fear that it could hurt oil demand as people may not go out as often. 

Domestic air traffic surges 

• In a major relief for airline companies, the domestic air traffic grew as the restrictions eased and cases declined. In June, there was a 47% month-on-month increase in the number of passengers travelling by air. 
• Around 31 lakh passengers boarded flights in June compared to 21 lakh in May, according to the data released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). However, the figure is still lower than that in April, when 57 lakh passengers travelled by air. In addition to the rise in flyers, the fall in crude oil prices could bode well for airline companies as it could result in a fall in aviation fuel prices. Nonetheless, shares of InterGlobe Aviation (Indigo) and SpiceJet were down by 5.1% and 2.3%, respectively, amid a weak broader market.

Closing bell

Today, the markets fell for the third day in a row. A weak opening was expected after the sharp fall in the US markets overnight. However, falling crude oil prices offer a ray of hope, which could translate to a decrease in fuel prices and thus ease inflation a bit. Having said that, today the bulls lacked power to pull up the markets. The India VIX is up nearly 13% so far this week and indicates volatility ahead. Suddenly, heightened activity is seen in global equities and commodities (mainly crude oil). Normally, during such times traders get caught on the wrong foot because there could be sharp swings on both sides.

Note: Markets will remain closed tomorrow (Wednesday) on account of Bakri Id. 

Good to know

What is OPEC and how does it control oil prices?

Founded in 1960, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is made up of 13 oil-exporting nations. These countries produce about 40% of the world’s crude oil and account for around 60% of the total petroleum traded globally. Because of this, their decision to increase or reduce oil supply can significantly impact oil prices. Since 2010, some non-OPEC oil-producing countries (called OPEC allies) such as Russia have also attended the OPEC meeting to decide oil output. Together, the group is referred to as OPEC+.      

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