Snapping their four-day losing run, Indian equity benchmarks ended higher by over half percent, led by gains in Telecom, Energy and Oil & Gas stocks. Indices made a weak start and remained volatile for most part of the day, as investors were worried that aggressive policy tightening by central banks could stifle global economic growth. Traders also were concerned as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pegged India's FY23 economic growth at 6.9 per cent, the lowest by a major bank or institution, saying the country had been adversely affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Some weakness also prevailed in the markets as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold Rs 2,484.25 crore worth of shares on June 8, as per provisional data available on the NSE. Adding to the pessimism, India's daily COVID-19 cases rose further, with government data released on Thursday showing daily cases rose 7,240 in the last 24 hours, the highest since March 2. However, in the noon trade, the indices made smart recovery, taking support from Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Anantha Nageswaran's statement that the impact of structural reforms, like Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), will help boost India's growth once the cloud of the pandemic and geopolitical conflict recedes. Some support also came as the commerce ministry stated that the country's exports increased 24.18 per cent to $9.39 billion during June 1-7, 2022 on account of healthy growth in sectors like engineering, gems and jewellery and petroleum products. The exports during June 1-7, 2021 stood at $7.56 billion. Some optimism also came after India Meteorological Department said the monsoon is progressing normally and will likely reach Maharashtra in the next two days. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 427.79 points or 0.78% to 55,320.28 and the CNX Nifty was up by 121.85 points or 0.74% to 16,478.10.

The US markets ended deeply in red on Thursday as traders looked ahead to the release of a Labor Department report on consumer price inflation on Friday. The report is expected to show that consumer prices increased by 0.7 percent in May after rising by 0.3 percent in April. Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, are expected to climb by 0.5 percent in May following a 0.6 percent advance in April. The annual rate of consumer price growth is expected to hold at 8.3 percent, while the annual rate of core consumer price growth is expected to slow to 5.9 percent from 6.2 percent. The inflation data could have an impact on the outlook for monetary policy ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates next Wednesday. Meanwhile, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for US unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended June 4th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 229,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week's revised level of 202,000. Street had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000 from the 200,000 originally reported for the previous week. On the secoral front, Steel stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 4.5 percent. Significant weakness was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 3.8 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday as demand concerns resurfaced following authorities in Shanghai imposing new Covid-related restrictions. According to private report, Shanghai has announced another round of mass testing for millions of residents. The city will lock down a district of 2.7 million people on Saturday to conduct mass coronavirus testing. Shanghai and Beijing had earlier this week eased heavy curbs on activity aimed at discouraging the spread of the virus. Data showing a drop in gasoline inventories in the US last week had lifted oil prices sharply in the previous session. Benchmark crude oil futures for July delivery fell $0.60 or 0.5 percent to settle at $121.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery declined $0.76 or 0.61 percent to settle at $122.82 (Provisional) a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended weaker against the US dollar on Thursday, on increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks. Boiling crude oil prices ramped up inflation fear, with top officials warning of more pain to come as the Ukraine war continues to push up and put further pressure on the global economy weighed on traders' sentiments. Investors paid no heed towards report that country's exports increased 24.18 per cent to USD 9.39 billion during June 1-7, 2022 on account of healthy growth in sectors like engineering, gems and jewellery and petroleum products. The exports during June 1-7, 2021 stood at USD 7.56 billion. On the global front, pound softened versus the U.S. dollar and the euro on Thursday amid a gloomy economic outlook and political worries. Finally, the rupee ended at 77.75, weaker by 7 paise from its previous close of 77.68 on Wednesday.

The FIIs as per Thursday's data were net sellers in equity segment, while net buyers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5373.11 crore against gross selling of Rs 7780.81 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 242.93 crore with gross sales of Rs 136.45 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 16.00 crore against gross selling of Rs 8.22 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday as investors anticipated incoming data to show unabated high levels of consumer prices in May. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Friday after rate hike guidance from the ECB unnerved investors waiting for key inflation data from the US. Indian markets rebounded on Thursday led by a fag-end recovery in oil & gas, financial, IT and FMCG pockets, following four back-to-back sessions of losses. Today, markets are likely to make gap-down opening tracking weakness across global markets. Traders will be concerned as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the Russia-Ukraine war has thrown up a crisis of fuel, food and fertiliser that will lead to hunger situations and have a very significant inflationary impact. Some pessimism may come with India Ratings' report that the country's current account deficit is likely to hit a three-year high of 1.8 per cent or $43.81 billion in FY22, as against a surplus of 0.9 per cent or $23.91 billion in FY21. There will be some cautiousness as the United Nations said Foreign Direct Investment inflows to India declined $19 billion to $45 billion in 2021 but the country still remained among the top 10 global economies for FDI last year. Besides, Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) continued to be net sellers of domestic equities, pulling out Rs 1,512 crore from stocks on Thursday. However, some respite may come later in the day as Industry body Assocham said the Reserve Bank's decision to raise the benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to 4.9 per cent will help the Indian economy in the medium term. Some support may come as Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said tax revenue collections in ongoing fiscal year are expected to be far better than the budget estimates. Last fiscal year, indirect taxes grew at 20 per cent and direct taxes at 49 per cent. Also, he said Gross goods and services tax (GST) revenues may be Rs 1.4-1.5 trillion a month on average in the current financial year, boosting the tax revenues of the government. There will be some reaction in tea industry stocks as Indian Tea Exporters Association Chairman Anshuman Kanoria said buoyed by the encouraging demand scenario in overseas markets, Indian tea exporters are hoping to ship out 220-225 million kg in 2022, and are keen on filling up the vacuum left by crisis-hit Sri Lanka.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• Tech Mahindra has entered into share subscription agreement to acquire 26% equity shares in Huoban Energy 6. 
• Indian Oil Corporation has signed a long term supply agreement with Air Products, a world leader in industrial gases. 
• TCS and Wipro will jointly work at IBM's new automation innovation centre in Kochi to develop artificial intelligence technology-based solutions. 
• Infosys has entered into a global strategic collaboration with TK Elevator, one of the world's leading elevator companies based out of Düsseldorf, Germany.