Indian equity
benchmarks ended higher for the third consecutive session on Thursday tracking
strong global cues, easing crude oil prices and investor cheer on election
results where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in four out of five
states. An across-the-board rally swept the markets with FMCG, Realty, Metal
and Banking sectors leading from the front. Markets opened with a significant
gap on the upside, as traders took some support with Union Minister of Commerce
and Industry Piyush Goyal stating that the venture capitalists have played a
pivotal role in India's startup story and the economic growth of the country.
Addressing the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association's (IVCA)
Conclave, he said they have been driving innovation and bringing new ideas to
the fore. Some support also came as private report stated that hiring activity
witnessed a three per cent uptick sequentially in February as almost all
industries showcased strong growth with the end of the third wave of the
pandemic. Adding to the optimism, report stated that India and Canada are set
to hold talks during March 10-13 to further strengthen the bilateral ties and
discuss economic partnership, including a free trade agreement between both nations.
However, key indices trimmed some of their gains in late afternoon deals, as
traders turned anxious with Ratings and Research's (Ind-Ra) report that the
country's current account deficit (CAD) is likely to widen to a 13-quarter high
of $23.6 billion or 2.8 per cent of GDP in October-December 2021-22 (Q3FY22) as
against a deficit of $9.6 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) in Q2 FY22, due to
higher commodity prices following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In Q3 FY21, the
deficit was $2.2 billion (0.3 per cent of GDP). Traders took a note of Former
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan's statement that India
needs to recalibrate its response to the price situation following disruptions
in global supply chains on account of Russia-Ukraine war, as losing the battle
against inflation neither serves the government nor the central bank. Further,
he said it is very important for any central bank to respect its mandate given
to it by the government. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 817.06 points or 1.50% to
55,464.39 and the CNX Nifty was up by 249.55 points or 1.53% to 16,594.90.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday after the Labor Department released a report showing a continued
acceleration in the annual rate of U.S. consumer price growth in the month of
February. The report showed the annual rate of consumer price growth
accelerated to 7.9 percent in February from 7.5 percent in January, reaching
the highest rate since January 1982. Meanwhile, first-time claims for US
unemployment benefits saw a modest increase in the week ended March 5th,
according to a report released by the Labor Department. The report showed
initial jobless claims crept up to 227,000, an increase of 11,000 from the
previous week's revised level of 216,000. Street had expected jobless claims to
tick up to 216,000 from the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also
inched up to 231,250, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised
average of 230,750. Besides, weakness also prevailed in the markets after
failed peace talks between Ukraine and Russia spooked investors about how the
geopolitical conflict could impact global growth. Negotiations between Russian
and Ukrainian foreign ministers ended with little progress on matters including
a cease-fire or a safe passage for civilians trying to flee the besieged city
of Mariupol. Markets have been tied closely to the conflict and have been
inversely correlated with energy prices, which have been on a tear higher
during the Russia-Ukraine war. Since February 24 - when Russia invaded Ukraine
- West Texas Intermediate crude have risen more than 14%, while Brent crude oil
is up about 15% in that time. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks
turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 2.2 percent. Significant weakness was
also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent drop by the
KBW Bank Index.
Crude oil futures ended lower on
Thursday after a volatile session, a day after their biggest daily dive in two
years, as Russia pledged to fulfil contractual obligations and some traders
said supply disruption concerns were overdone. Russian President Vladimir Putin
said that the country, a major energy producer which supplies a third of
Europe's gas and 7% of global oil, would continue to meet its contractual
obligations on energy supplies. Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery
dropped $2.68 or 2.5 percent to settle at $106.02 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery declined $1.55 or1.38 percent
to settle at $109.59 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Continuing previous session
gains, Indian rupee ended higher against dollar on Thursday supported by
positive domestic equities and trends in state election results. Geopolitical risks
have also begun to reverse course and commodities cooled off, and emerging
market currencies and equities advanced. Sentiments were upbeat as India and
Canada are set to hold talks during March 10-13 to further strengthen the
bilateral ties and discuss economic partnership, including a free trade
agreement between both nations. Traders took a note of Former RBI governor
Raghuram Rajan's statement that India needs to recalibrate its response to the
price situation following disruptions in global supply chains on account of
Russia-Ukraine war, as losing the battle against inflation neither serves the
government nor the central bank. On the global front, sterling edged lower
against the euro on Thursday as investors awaited the European Central Bank
policy meeting outcome later in the day. Finally, the rupee ended at 76.43,
stronger by 19 paise from its previous close of 76.62 on Wednesday.
The FIIs as per Thursday's data
were net sellers in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 9421.54 crore against gross selling of Rs 13897.71 crore,
while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 531.93 crore with gross
sales of Rs 966.90 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was
of Rs 27.00 crore against gross selling of Rs 32.54 crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday as US inflation hit almost 8 per cent, confirming that the Federal
Reserve will most likely raise interest rates next week. Asian markets are
trading in red on Friday as the pull-back rally fizzled out. Indian markets
extended gains to the third day in a row on Thursday, helped by financial,
consumer and auto shares, amid planned talks between Ukraine and Russia buoyed
global risk-on sentiment. Today, markets are likely to get a weak start, amid
weakness across global markets, as focus returned to global cues after
investors cheered results of Assembly polls in five states. Investors will be
eyeing the IIP data to be out after market hours. Sentiments may get impacted
with the Reserve Bank data showing that India Inc's direct overseas investment
declined 67 per cent to $753.61 million in February this year. Traders will be
concerned as a private brokerage firm sharply cut its India FY23 real GDP
growth estimate to 7.9 per cent, mainly due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine
conflict on oil prices. There will be some cautiousness as Kristalina
Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund said India
has been very good at managing its finances but the surge in global energy
prices is going to have a negative impact on its economy. Traders may take note
of report that S&P Global Ratings said the Reserve Bank of India may feel
pressure to tackle inflation sooner than it expected following a surge in
global commodity prices. Meanwhile, rating agency Crisil said Indian economy is
expected to grow by 7.8 per cent in 2022-23, mainly driven by the government's
drive to push infrastructure spending and likely increase in private capital
expenditure. The rating agency, however, cautioned that the ongoing Russia
Ukraine war and rising commodity prices do pose a downside risk to the growth.
Separately, the Income Tax department said Refunds worth over Rs 1.86 lakh
crore have been issued to more than 2.14 crore taxpayers during the current
financial year. Banking stocks will be in focus with RBI data showing that bank
credit grew by 7.9 per cent to Rs 116.27 lakh crore and deposits rose by 8.6
per cent to Rs 162.17 lakh crore in the fortnight ended February 25. There will
be some reaction in Jewellery industry related stocks as Gem Jewellery Export
Promotion Council (GJEPC) said India's gold imports bounced back to 1,067.72
tonnes in 2021 from 430.11 tonnes during 2020 when the demand was hit due to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
16,594.90
|
16,442.76
|
16,752.16
|
BSE
Sensex
|
55,464.39
|
54,883.99
|
56,143.64
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
|
621.12
|
174.40
|
167.30
|
179.20
|
Tata Motors
|
597.76
|
418.55
|
410.05
|
431.00
|
ITC
|
361.32
|
231.45
|
228.70
|
233.35
|
ICICI Bank
|
359.59
|
675.50
|
665.76
|
693.11
|
State Bank of India
|
345.53
|
467.40
|
460.49
|
475.49
|
NTPC's wholly owned Subsidiary -- Nabinagar Power Generating Company has successfully completed trial operation at Unit-3 of 660 MW capacity.
Reliance Industries' subsidiary -- Reliance Retail and Reliance-backed Shopsense Retail Technologies firm Fynd have been named among the top 10 most innovative companies in Asia-Pacific by leading business media brand Fast Company.
Tech Mahindra is planning to host Tech in Sustainability Ideathon Laps, as a part of the ongoing Mahindra Racing partnership.
Wipro has entered into long-term partnership with Pandorum Technologies.