Indian equity
benchmarks trimmed gains ahead of the closing bell but managed to settle at
fresh closing peaks on Thursday, amid buying in Telecom, Metal and TECK stocks.
Benchmark indices began trading session in the green but soon turned in red
terrain, as traders got anxious with private report stated that Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India have seen an average 11 per cent
decline in business volume due to lockdowns in 2021, compared to 46 per cent
during the 2020 nationwide lockdown. Some concern also came with report that
India's monetary policy makers are likely to leave interest rates untouched for
a seventh straight meeting, as their focus remains more on fixing a fickle
economy than on controlling stubborn price pressures. The Reserve Bank of
India's six-member Monetary Policy Committee is meeting amid weak indicators
raising doubts about the economy's ability to sustain a nascent recovery.
However, markets moved higher in afternoon trading, as industry chamber PHDCCI
has called for a 3-tier GST rate structure, with the highest slab at 18 per
cent, in order to help boost consumption and reduce evasion. Under the Goods
and Services Tax (GST), a four-rate structure that exempts or imposes a low
rate of tax 5 per cent on essential items and top rate of 28 per cent is
levied. The other slabs of tax are 12 and 18 per cent. Besides, a 3 per cent
rate is applied on gold, silver and processed diamonds. Traders also found some
support as the Rajya Sabha passed the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment)
Bill, which seeks to encourage the start-up ecosystem and further boost ease of
doing business, amid uproar by the opposition on Pegasus snooping row and other
issues. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave banks time till October
31 to comply with its guidelines on current account and overdraft facilities,
by which time banks must come to a resolution on the issue. Finally, the BSE
Sensex rose 123.07 points or 0.23% to 54,492.84, while the CNX Nifty was up by
35.80 points or 0.22% to 16,294.60.
The US markets ended higher on
Thursday following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing a
modest decrease in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week
ended July 31st. The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 385,000, a
decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 399,000. Street
had expected jobless claims to dip to 384,000 from the 400,000 originally
reported for the previous week. The Labor Department said the less volatile
four-week moving average also edged down to 394,000, a decrease of 250 from the
previous week's revised average of 394,250. On the sectorl front, Airline
stocks showed a substantial rebound on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline
Index soaring by 4.3 percent following a 2.4 percent nosedive on Wednesday.
Significant strength also emerged among brokerage stocks, driving the NYSE Arca
Broker/Dealer Index up by 2.6 percent to its best closing level in well over a
month. However, a separate report from the Commerce Department showed the US
trade deficit widened by more than expected in the month of June, reaching a
new record high. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to
$75.7 billion in June from a revised $71.0 billion in May. Street had expected
the trade deficit to widen to $74.1 billion from the $71.2 billion originally
reported for the previous month. The wider than expected trade deficit came as
the value of imports jumped by 2.1 percent to $283.4 billion, while the value
of exports rose by 0.6 percent to $207.7 billion.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Thursday, regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the three previous
sessions. Oil prices rose on concerns about rising Middle East tensions, as
Israeli aircraft struck what its military said were rocket launch sites in
south Lebanon early on Thursday in response to earlier projectile fire towards
Israel from Lebanese territory. Two rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday
struck Israel, which initially responded with artillery fire amid heightened
regional tensions over an alleged Iranian attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf
last week. Crude oil futures for September rose $0.94 or 1.4 percent to settle
$69.09 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude surged
$0.98 or 1.4 percent to settle at $71.35 a barrel on London's Intercontinental
Exchange.
Indian rupee ended marginally
higher against dollar on Thursday due to fresh selling of the American currency
by banks and exporters. Rupee got some support as Rajya Sabha passed the
Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to encourage the
start-up ecosystem and further boost ease of doing business, amid uproar by the
opposition on Pegasus snooping row and other issues. However, upside remained
capped with private report stating that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs) in India have seen an average 11 per cent decline in business volume
due to lockdowns in 2021, compared to 46 per cent during the 2020 nationwide
lockdown. On the global front, pound rose on Thursday ahead of a Bank of
England meeting at which policymakers are expected to keep stimulus pumping
despite rising inflation and a strong economic recovery. Finally, the rupee ended
74.17, stronger by 2 paise from its previous close of 74.19 on Wednesday.
The FIIs as per Thursday's data
were net buyers in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 10407.92 crore against gross selling of Rs 6941.97 crore,
while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 724.11 crore with gross
sales of Rs 579.85 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was
of Rs 7.90 crore against gross selling of Rs 12.33 crore.
The US markets ended higher on
Thursday as unemployment claims declined and the trade deficit widened -
positive economic data in the face of rising COVID-19 cases and signals of
declining Federal Reserve stimulus. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on
Friday as investors await the release of a closely watched US jobs report.
Indian markets ended off-day's high on Thursday as gains in metals and IT
stocks were capped by losses in banks. Today, the start of session is likely to
be flat ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) bi-monthly monetary policy
announcement. The RBI is set to announce its decision on key interest rates in
its bi-monthly monetary policy review on Friday at 10 am. As per a private
report, the chances of any revision in interest rates are less, the street is
expecting a roadmap for the inevitable policy normalisation. There will be some
cautiousness with report that India's production of two Covid-19 vaccines will
increase from September, but its target of having 1.35 billion doses by August
and December looks difficult. However, traders may be taking encouragement with
industry chamber PHDCCI's statement that the economy is recovering at a fast
pace from the recent lows of April and May on the back of declining new
coronavirus cases, continued unlocking in various parts of the country and
calibrated economic reforms announced by the government. Traders may take note
of report that putting an end to the contentious retrospective tax law that hit
the confidence of foreign investors, including Vodafone and Cairn, for years,
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has introduced a Bill in Parliament to
nullify the provision in the Income Tax Act. US-India Strategic and Partnership
Forum (USISPF) has applauded the Indian move to withdraw the retrospective law
relating to tax on indirect transfers. There will be some buzz in the aviation
industry stocks with ratings agency ICRA's report that domestic air passenger
traffic sequentially grew by 56-57 per cent at around 48-49 lakh in July. The
domestic air passenger traffic stood at 31.1 lakh in June 2021. According to
the ratings agency, the growth on YoY basis was 132 per cent. Meanwhile, shares
of Glenmark Life Sciences will make their Dalal Street debut. The IPO of the
company was 44.17 times last month, helping the company raise Rs 1,513 crore.
Apart from the listing, eyes will also be glued on the four IPOs that will
close for subscription today. There will be lots of earnings reaction based on
the performance of the companies.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
16,294.60
|
16,220.11
|
16,359.26
|
BSE
Sensex
|
54,492.84
|
54,243.40
|
54,729.75
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Bharti Airtel
|
710.88
|
598.70
|
577.80
|
619.30
|
State Bank of India
|
585.95
|
441.85
|
432.66
|
456.76
|
ITC
|
471.78
|
215.25
|
209.19
|
219.04
|
Tata Motors
|
207.04
|
299.70
|
294.66
|
302.81
|
ICICI Bank
|
177.74
|
702.45
|
695.50
|
712.95
|
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Dr Reddy's Laboratories has entered into a definitive agreement with BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., to sell its US and Canada territory rights for Elyxyb 25 mg/mL to the US-based firm.
Bharti Airtel has partnered with Google Cloud and Cisco to launch Airtel Office Internet - a unified enterprise grade solution for the emerging digital connectivity needs of small businesses, SOHOs and early stage tech start-ups.
Titan Company has reported consolidated net profit attributable to owners at Rs 20 crore for the Q1FY22 as compared to net loss of Rs 291 crore for Q1FY21.