Indian equity benchmarks ended higher for the fifth straight day on Thursday on account of robust buying in index majors. A decline in crude oil prices in the international market also supported the domestic equities. Markets made a negative start and consolidated during the first half of the session as sentiments were down-beat as exchange data showed Foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth net Rs 3245.86 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) sold shares worth net Rs 247.46 crore on September 6, 2023. However, markets erased initial losses and witnessed a sharp surge in afternoon deals, as traders found solace with Chairman, CII national committee on EXIM, Sanjay Budhia, stating that negotiating trade pacts with certain G20 countries and diversifying exports to regions like Brazil and Mexico could help India boost outbound shipments and manufacturing in the years to come. He said that tapping into opportunities in G20 countries is crucial for India's economic growth and global influence. Markets maintained their upward rally in late afternoon session, taking support from Finance Ministry in its annual status report stating that India's external debt declined to 18.9 per cent of GDP at the end of March 2023 from 20 per cent last year. Some support also came as government think tank Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand's statement that India's agro-chemical industry has the potential to grow more than the current nine per cent notwithstanding the competition from China. He also observed that many Western countries are shifting from agrochemicals to biopesticides and the Indian industry needs to pay attention to this aspect. Traders also took a note of Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das' statement that the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has played a phenomenal role in the FinTech revolution in India. He added Indian fintech industry projected to generate around $200 billion in revenue by 2030. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 385.04 points or 0.58% to 66,265.56 and the CNX Nifty was up by 116.00 points or 0.59% to 19,727.05.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Thursday amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following recent economic data. First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly saw a continued decline in the week ended September 2nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 216,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 229,000. Street had expected jobless claims to rise to 234,000 from the 228,000 originally reported for the previous week. Jobless claims decreased for the fourth consecutive week, falling to their lowest level since a matching figure in the week ended February 11th. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 229,250, a decrease of 8,500 from the previous week's revised average of 237,750. Meanwhile, activity in the U.S. service sector unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in the month of August, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The ISM said its services PMI rose to 54.5 in August from 52.7 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The increase surprised participants, who had expected the index to edge down to 52.5. The report said the new orders index climbed to 57.5 in August from 55.0 in July, while the employment index jumped to 54.7 in August from 50.7 in July. The business activity index also crept up to 57.3 from 57.1. On the sectoral front, Computer hardware stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, resulting in a 3.0 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday on profit booking after recent gains. Further, worries about the outlook for energy demand following weak economic data from China, and a firm dollar weighed as well on crude oil prices. Crude oil prices rose despite data released by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed U.S. crude inventory dropped by 6.307 million barrels during the week ended September 1. Gasoline stockpiles declined 2.666 million barrels last week, substantially larger than an expected drop of 0.950 million barrels. Meanwhile, distillate stockpiles increased 0.679 million barrels last week, nearly three times the expected increase of 0.239 million barrels. Benchmark crude oil futures for October delivery fell $0.67 or 0.9 percent to settle at $86.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery dropped $0.68 or 0.75 percent to settle at $89.92 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Rupee settled lower against dollar on Thursday amid a firm American currency and elevated crude oil prices. Besides, foreign fund outflows weighted down on the sentiments. Investors overlooked reports where Finance Ministry in its annual status report stated India's external debt declined to 18.9 per cent of GDP at the end of March 2023 from 20 per cent last year. On the global front, a buoyant dollar pushed the yen to a 10-month low on Thursday and kept the euro and sterling pinned near three-month lows, as investors placed their faith in a still-resilient U.S. economy even amid a dour global growth outlook. Finally, the rupee ended at 83.23 (Provisional), weaker by 10 paisa from its previous close of 83.13 on Wednesday.

The FIIs as per Thursday's data were net sellers in equity segment, while they were net buyers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 10379.87 crore against gross selling of Rs 13212.71 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 434.76 crore with gross sales of Rs 260.09 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 15.99 crore against gross selling of Rs 14.78 crore.

The US markets ended mostly in red on Thursday due to concerns over the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy path and potential rate hikes. Asian markets are trading lower on Friday as investors grapple with hot oil prices, and US Treasury yields holding above 4 per cent. Indian markets ended on a strong note for the fifth straight trading session on Thursday after overcoming the initial volatility caused by jittery global markets. Today, markets are likely to get flat-to-positive start. All eyes would be on the policy announcements, if any, at the G20 Summit being hosted by India. Traders will be taking encouragement with a private report that Inflation in India was likely to have eased in August from a 15-month high in July, led by cooling vegetable prices. Erratic monsoon rains have ruined some crops of staple food items, prompting the government to subsidise vegetable prices and ban exports of some cereals, providing temporary relief to households. Some support will come as NaBFID Chairman KV Kamath said India's GDP will likely grow to $25 trillion size in the next 25 years and digital fintech players could contribute to about 25%-30% of the overall growth. Traders may take note of report that India and the 10-nation bloc Asean are expected to formally launch the review exercise for the free trade agreement (FTA) in November. They have agreed to fast-track negotiations for the review of the existing agreement in goods between the two regions and conclude the talks in 2025. However, foreign fund outflows may dampen sentiments in markets. according to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth net Rs 758.55 crore on September 7, 2023. Some cautiousness may come with a private report that the all-India cumulative rainfall stood at -11 per cent of long period average (LPA) on September 5, well below the normal (±4 per cent of LPA), and worse than -9 per cent of LPA a week back. Sugar stocks will be in focus as sugar cooperative NFCSF junked rumours of likely sugar shortage in the country due to El Nino, saying domestic availability of the sweetener is not expected to be adverse in the 2023-24 season.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• HCL Technologies has signed a multiyear Managed Public Cloud Services agreement with Siemens AG to modernize its IT landscape worldwide and power cloud-led digital transformation. 
• NTPC has forged a partnership with Apollo Hospitals, reaffirming its steadfast commitment to the health and well-being of its workforce. 
• ONGC is planning to infuse about Rs 15,000 crore in OPaL as part of a financial restructuring exercise that will see gas utility GAIL being edged out of the petrochemical firm.  
• Larsen and Toubro has reportedly bagged a mega Aramco order.