by 2 minutes ReadBrokers at a Mumbai stock brokerage firm trade at their computer terminals. 6th of January, 2015. FILES/Shailesh Andrade/REUTERS (Reuters) – BENGALURU (Reuters) – On Tuesday, Indian equities sank slightly as financial companies slumped, and experts questioned if the government’s new loan guarantees, introduced as relief measures, would help GDP. The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.30 percent at 15,767.20 at 0509 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.26 percent at 52,597.28. “All positive aspects have already been factored into the market, and there are no major events or positives that could help the market rally further… There is some consolidation going on right now “said Gaurav Garg, Mumbai-based CapitalVia Global Research’s head of research. Industry leaders and analysts said on Monday that the finance minister’s announcement of new federal guarantees on bank loans to small firms and the tourism sector would not be enough to support economic development. “The market has responded negatively since most of the measures announced are… a repeat of what they indicated in the budget,” Garg explained, adding that the measures’ impact on the ground will take time to reflect. The Nifty Bank index lost 0.80 percent in Mumbai trading. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, both private-sector lenders, dropped 1.3 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. The stock of HDFC Life Insurance Co dropped by as much as 2.3 percent. According to media sources, Standard Life, the insurer’s promoter, is selling a 3.46 percent stake at a discount to HDFC Life’s Monday closing price. However, news that the government will extend loan guarantees to the tourism sector bolstered airline stocks. Spicejet and InterGlobe Aviation both gained 0.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Broader Asian equities fell in global markets on concerns that new coronavirus outbreaks in the region could stymie the region’s economic recovery. Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru contributed reporting, and Uttaresh.V edited the piece.
