India's benchmark indices have erased the year's gains to trade lower as the liquidity fears triggered by defaults at Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. added to concerns over higher crude prices and a weaker rupee.
So bad has been the slide that the number of stocks hitting 52-week lows spiked to 284 on Oct. 1, the highest in the last one year for companies with a market capitalisation of at least Rs 500 crore, according to the Bloomberg Indian Composite Index. In fact, the number of scrips falling to their lowest in a year spiked four times in the last eight sessions.
The NSE Nifty 50 Index has fallen 2.1 percent so far this year, with benchmark index sliding the most in little over the last one month. That's because defaults by IL&FS and its subsidiaries only added to the selloff amid concerns over widening current account deficit as rupee weakens and crude surges.
On Oct. 9, nearly 188 stocks hit their 52-week lows with consumer discretionary, financials, industrials and material sectors leading the laggards. One stock each from consumer staples and financials bucked the trend to touch 52-week highs.
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