BSE Sensex, Nifty Under Pressure; GDP Data, Global Cues Weigh

BSE Sensex and Nifty fell on Tuesday after data showed that Indian economy slowed in the June quarter. Lower Asian markets in the wake of weak China data also weighed on sentiment. The Sensex fell 300 points at its day's low of 25,984 while Nifty slumped to 7,886. At 10:48 a.m., the Sensex was down 207 points to 26,075 while Nifty was off 65 points to 7,905.

Here are top 10 developments:

1) GDP or gross domestic product data released yesterday showed that Indian economy expanded at an annual 7 per cent rate in the April-June quarter, slower than provisional growth of 7.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

2) The less-than-expected GDP data has however spurred calls for rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI has cut the policy repo rate 75 basis points since January. But it left the rate on hold at its last policy review early this month.

3) Also weighing on markets, manufacturing growth in India eased in August as the pace of orders softened, a business survey showed on Tuesday. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by Markit, fell to 52.3 in August from July's 52.7. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

4) Concerns over China slowdown and uncertainties over US Federal Reserve rate hike this month have led to a turmoil in global markets with benchmark indices in different countries logging their biggest monthly losses in August in many years. The Sensex had its worst month in nearly four years.

5) Major Asian markets fell today following lower closing on Wall Street and weak China economic data. Japan's Nikkei slumped nearly 3 per cent while overnight the Dow fell over 100 points or nearly 0.70 per cent.

6) In China, the stock markets fell over 2 per cent following weak economic data. Activity in China's manufacturing sector contracted at its fastest pace in three years in August, an official survey showed on Tuesday, reinforcing fears of a sharper slowdown in the world's second-largest economy despite a flurry of government support measures. A similar official survey in China on the services sector showed activity was cooling there, too.

7) Coming back to Indian markets, analysts say that unless selling from foreign institutional investors abates, Indian stocks are likely to remain under pressure. Foreign institutional investors hold nearly 25 per cent of BSE 200 stocks.

8) Foreign investors sold Indian shares worth Rs 551 crore on Monday, bringing their total sale figure to nearly Rs 17,000 crore in nine sessions. In contrast, domestic institutional investors have been buyers of Indian equities in the past few days, offering some support to Sensex and Nifty.

9) The value of the rupee would also be under focus with as it impacts the returns of foreign investors in dollar terms. The rupee rose to 66.23/dollar at its day's high as compared to its previous close of 66.48. In August, the rupee fell nearly 3.5 per cent following China's devaluation of its currency.

10) The monthly auto sales numbers of automakers are also in focus. India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki sold 117,864 vehicles in August, lower than expectations of 1.21 lakh units. Its shares were down nearly 1 per cent.