July 8 (Bloomberg) -- India’s benchmark stock index tumbled to the lowest level in one and a half months as commodities producers sank on lower metal prices and Trade Minister Anand Sharma said exports plunged in June.
Tata Steel Ltd., India largest manufacturer of the alloy, sank 9.1 percent and Sterlite Industries India Ltd., the biggest copper producer, slid 7.2 percent. ICICI Bank Ltd., India’s second-biggest lender, lost 6.4 percent and DLF Ltd., the biggest real estate developer, retreated 8.7 percent after Sharma said declining exports have cut jobs. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, fell 406.69, or 2.9 percent, to 13,763.76, based on preliminary closing prices. The gauge is at the lowest since May 26, entering a so-called correction after the retreat from this year’s high surpassed 10 percent. “We haven’t seen clear evidence of the green shoots,” said Sukumar Rajah, chief investment officer at Franklin Templeton Asset Management India Pvt., which oversees $4 billion in equities. “It won’t be easy for the economies of the world to grow at the same rate” before the recession began, he said. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange lost 3 percent to 4,075.75. The BSE 200 Index declined 3 percent to 1,676.3. The slump in India’s export growth is “primarily because of the fall in demand in markets abroad, particularly traditional destinations which includes the Americas, the U.K., the euro zone and Japan,” Sharma said, replying to a question in parliament in New Delhi today. Job Losses Declining exports resulted in companies cutting 500,000 jobs in 10 industries as the worst recession since the Great Depression forces manufacturers to reduce production, Sharma said, citing a labor bureau survey conducted for the October- December quarter. Merchandise shipments dropped 29.2 percent in May from a year earlier to $11 billion, after sliding 33.2 percent in April, which was the biggest fall on record, according to Bloomberg data going back to April 1995. Tata Steel lost 9.1 percent to 360.35 rupees. Sterlite declined 7.2 percent to 550 rupees. A measure of six metals traded on the London Metals Exchange, comprising copper, aluminum, lead, tin, zinc and nickel, fell 1.2 percent. ICICI lost 6.4 percent to 650.65 rupees. DLF sank 8.7 percent to 281.65 rupees. Sensex companies may report a combined 9.7 percent decline in earnings in the three months ended June, led by property and pharmaceutical stocks, according to Sharekhan Ltd. The decline in profit at the 30 companies on the benchmark index compares with a 9.4 percent drop in the previous three months, the Mumbai-based brokerage said in a report today. -- Thanks & Regards, Abhishek Kothari --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
