Indian equity benchmarks managed
to end higher in highly volatile trade on Friday led by gains in basic
materials, oil and gas and energy stocks. The beginning was upbeat as traders
took encouragement with report which claimed that the Emergency Credit Line
Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) launched by the government in 2020 to provide relief
to MSMEs impacted by COVID-19 pandemic has saved 13.5 lakh firms from going
bankrupt and consequently 1.5 crore jobs. The street were getting relief with
private report stated that private equity investments hit a record high of
$40.1 billion in 2021, an increase of over 15 per cent from the previous year,
led by a $3.6 billion flow into Flipkart and $1.93 billion into Bundl Technologies. The strength in the markets was being
supported as the finance ministry released monthly revenue deficit grant to 17
states totalling Rs 9,871 crore. So far, an amount of Rs 98,710 crore has been
released to 17 states as post devolution revenue deficit grant in the current
financial year. However, the headline indices were sharply off their respective
day's highs and traded with marginal losses in afternoon deals, as caution
prevailed among investors globally amid increasing cases of the Omicron variant
of COVID-19. Traders turned anxious with India Ratings and Research's statement
that the Omicron variant spread will impact the January-March quarter GDP by
0.40 per cent and shave off 0.10 per cent from the FY22 growth, as many states
resort to restrictions to limit infections. But, selling proved short-lived as
key gauged bounced back into green terrain in late hour of trade, taking
support from a senior government official said that the Omicron wave of
coronavirus is unlikely to have much impact on India's economic growth, not
more than of 5-10 basis points. Traders took note of report that amid fears
that the new coronavirus variant may disrupt normal business activity, industry
chamber CII pitched for coordinated actions by the Centre and state governments
to minimize the impact of Omicron on the economy. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 142.81 points or
0.24% to 59,744.65 and the CNX Nifty was up by 66.80 points or 0.38% to
17,812.70.
The US markets settled in red on
Friday following the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly
jobs report. While the report showed much weaker than expected job growth in
the month of December, the unemployment rate still fell by more than expected.
The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 199,000 jobs in December
after climbing by an upwardly revised 249,000 jobs in November. Street had
expected employment to jump by 400,000 jobs compared to the addition of 210,000
jobs originally reported for the previous month. Despite the weaker than
expected job growth, the unemployment rate slid to 3.9 percent in December from
4.2 percent in November. The unemployment rate was expected to edge down to 4.1
percent. With the bigger than expected decrease, the unemployment rate fell to
its lowest level since hitting 3.5 percent in February of 2020. Street have
indicated the report is not likely to alter the Fed's plans to accelerate
monetary policy normalization. Traders subsequently seem concerned the Fed will
be raising rates at a time of slowing economic growth as a result of the
Omicron variant of the coronavirus. On the sectoral front, housing stocks moved
sharply lower amid concerns about the impact of higher interest rates,
resulting in a 3.3 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Substantial weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected
by the 2.9 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Networking
and biotechnology stocks also saw considerable weakness, contributing to the
steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. On the other hand, airline stocks moved
sharply higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 2.9
percent. Steel, banking and energy stocks also saw notable strength, with the
continued advance by energy stocks coming despite a pullback by the price of
crude oil.
Paring initial gains, crude oil
futures ended lower on Friday as investors continued to monitor unrest in
Kazakhstan that threatens to add to supply outages that have helped boost crude
prices. Kazakhstan produces about 1.6 million barrels of oil per day. Russia
has reportedly sent its paratroopers into Kazakhstan to help control a
countrywide uprising that erupted after widespread violence. Elsewhere, the
political situation in Libya continues to deteriorate and sideline oil output.
Production in Libya has dropped to 729,000 barrels per day from a high of 1.3
million bpd last year, partly due to pipeline maintenance work. Investors also
continued to bet on hopes the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will not
significantly impact global oil demand. Benchmark crude oil futures for
February delivery fell 56 cents or 0.7 percent to settle at $78.90 a barrel on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery lost 24 cents
or 0.3 percent to settle at $81.75 a barrel on London's Intercontinental
Exchange.
Indian Rupee ended higher against
US dollar on Friday, on the back of selling of the American currency by
exporters. Traders took solace with private report stated that private equity
investments hit a record high of $40.1 billion in 2021, an increase of over 15
per cent from the previous year, led by a $3.6 billion flow into Flipkart and
$1.93 billion into Bundl Technologies.
However, upside remain capped as caution prevailed among investors
globally amid increasing cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Traders also
turned anxious with India Ratings and Research's statement that the Omicron
variant spread will impact the January-March quarter GDP by 0.40 per cent and
shave off 0.10 per cent from the FY22 growth, as many states resort to
restrictions to limit infections. On the global front, Sterling was on track on
Friday for weekly gains against the dollar and euro to start 2022, despite a
mixed picture emerging for Britain's economy. Finally, the rupee ended 74.34,
stronger by 8 paise from its previous close of 74.42 on Thursday.
The FIIs as per Friday's data
were net sellers in equity debt segment, while they were net buyers in debt segment.
In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 6607.37 crore against gross
selling of Rs 8304.41 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was
of Rs 408.12 crore with gross sales of Rs 100.45 crore. Besides, in the hybrid
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 17.65 crore against gross selling of Rs 16.19
crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Friday as treasury yields rose in anticipation Federal Reserve will raise rates
as soon as March. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Monday as
investors kept an eye on rising interest rates and coronavirus cases. Indian
markets finished session higher on Friday as gains in banks and financial
stocks pushed the benchmarks higher. Today, the markets are likely to open in
green following positive cues from Asian peers. Traders will be taking
encouragement as the National Statistical Office (NSO) in its first advance
estimate indicated that the Indian economy remains on track to regain its
position as the world's fastest-growing major economy and put the GDP expansion
at a tempered 9.2 per cent this fiscal amid concerns over the impact of a
resurgent virus on the fragile recovery. Also, an SBI Ecowrap report said
India's real GDP is expected to grow at around 9.5 per cent in 2021-22 on a
year-on-year (YoY). Some support will come with report that after three months
of selling spree, foreign investors have turned net buyers in the first week of
January by infusing Rs 3,202 crore in Indian equities, as correction in markets
provided them good buying opportunity. Though, some cautiousness may come as
the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said increase in Covid cases
along with imposition of various restrictions by different states have had an
adverse impact on business and economic activities across the country. Besides,
the RBI data showed the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $1.466
billion to $633.614 billion in the week ended December 31. In the previous week
ended December 24, the reserves dipped by $587 million to $635.08 billion.
Meanwhile, the government has decided not to impose anti-dumping duty on
certain steel products being imported from countries like China, Japan, and
Korea, as the finance ministry has not accepted the recommendations of the
directorate general of trade remedies (DGTR). There will be some buzz in the
insurance industry stocks with report that after a stellar performance in
November - following a poor show in October - the new business premium (NBP) of
life insurance companies was largely flat in December. FMCG stocks will be in
focus with a report that FMCG companies witnessed an increase in demand in the
past two weeks as consumers stocked up in the wake of rise in COVID-19 cases
across the country, and have ramped up supplies to their stockists to avoid
supply shortage. There will be some reaction is power stocks as total
outstanding dues owed by electricity distribution companies (discoms) to power
producers rose 4.4 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,21,030 crore in January 2022.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE
(Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
17,812.70
|
17,709.84
|
17,910.29
|
BSE Sensex
|
59,744.65
|
59,387.34
|
60,116.08
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Oil
& Natural Gas Corporation
|
308.89
|
157.10
|
153.14
|
159.29
|
State
Bank of India
|
227.46
|
491.25
|
486.49
|
498.99
|
Tata
Motors
|
155.32
|
489.85
|
483.90
|
495.65
|
ICICI
Bank
|
122.50
|
794.50
|
786.40
|
802.45
|
Coal
India
|
116.79
|
156.50
|
155.15
|
157.65
|
Titan Company has witnessed strong demand across its consumer businesses and clocked 36% growth for Q3FY22 over the festive quarter last year.
HCL Technologies has completed the acquisition of 51% stake in German IT consulting company Gesellschaft fur Banksysteme GmbH.
Reliance Industries' retail arm -- RRVL has acquired 25.8 per cent stake in Dunzo, India's leading quick commerce player, for $200 million.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has partnered with University of Hyderabad for developing cold chain logistics solutions for pharmaceutical firms.