Indian share markets witnessed selling pressure during closing hours today and ended deep in the red.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 421 points (down 1.1%). The NSE Nifty closed lower by 97 points (down 0.9%).
The SGX Nifty was trading at 11,225, down by 59 points at the time of writing.
The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 0.7%. The BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.4%. On the sectoral front, losses were largely seen in the energy sector and auto sector.
Asian markets ended on a mixed note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng ended up by 0.45% and the Shanghai Composite stood up by 2.06%. The Nikkei ended down by 1.15%.
The rupee was trading at 74.73 against the US$.
Maruti Suzuki was among the top buzzing stocks today.
Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest carmaker, reported a standalone net loss of Rs 2.4 billion in the quarter ended June 2020. This was against a profit of Rs 14.3 billion a year ago.
The loss was seen on the back of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. This is the first time since its listing in 2003 that the auto major reported a quarterly loss.
Sales for India's top carmaker plunged to Rs 36.7 billion, from Rs 187.3 billion a year ago.
The company sold a total of 76,599 vehicles during the quarter, sharply lower from 4,02,594 in the same quarter a year ago. Sales in the domestic market stood at 67,027 units, while exports were at 9,572 units.
The company said its net loss in the quarter was partially offset by lower operating expenses and higher fair-value gain on the invested surplus.
The company in a press release said that owing to the global pandemic of COVID-19, it was an unprecedented quarter in the company's history wherein a large part of the quarter had zero production and zero sales in compliance with the lockdown stipulated by the government. Production and sales started in a very small way in the month of May. It added that the production in the whole quarter was equivalent to just about two weeks' of regular working.
How these numbers show up in the coming months remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the news from this space. Stay tuned.
Domestic gold prices retreated from their highs today tracking a muted trend in the international spot prices ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting.
The active gold contract on MCX was trading lower by 0.15% at Rs 52,513 per 10 grams during morning hours today.
International gold prices were little changed at US$ 1,957 per ounce. Note that prices hit an all-time high of US$ 1,980 yesterday before retreating after investors booked profits and the dollar regained some ground.
With today's losses, gold is still hovering near its all-time high.
With gains seen this week, gold is heading for a seventh weekly gain, the longest stretch since 2011, while silver is poised for its biggest weekly advance in about four decades.
Investors in India are also seen flocking to sovereign gold bonds, which in the fourth tranche saw over 4 tonnes of gold equivalent being subscribed. Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are also witnessing increased buying interest with the net inflow in June being at Rs 4.9 billion while net assets under management (AUM) as on June end were at Rs 108.5 billion.
Speaking of the precious yellow metal, how lucrative has gold been as a long-term investment in India?
The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...
As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.
So, is this the right time to buy gold or silver? And how can one go about investing in this precious metal?
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