Indian equity
benchmarks ended Tuesday's session slightly in red despite scaling record highs
earlier in the day. Domestic equity markets began trading with gains taking
support from the commerce ministry's data showing that growing for the second
consecutive month, the country's exports rose 6.16 per cent year-on-year to
$27.45 billion in January 2021 following healthy growth in pharma and
engineering sectors. Trade deficit during the month narrowed to $14.54 billion
from $15.3 billion in January 2020. It was $15.44 billion in December 2020.
Imports in January 2021 rose 2 per cent to $42 billion. Some support also came
with a private report that economic activity is on the verge of normality after
getting severely hit by COVID-19 and Indian GDP will grow at 13.5 per cent in
FY22. Sentiments remained positive with India Ratings and Research in a report
stated that the aggregate fiscal deficit of states is likely to be at 4.3 per
cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021-22 compared to 4.6 per cent in
2020-21. The rating agency has revised the outlook on state finances to stable
for FY22 from stable-to-negative. The benchmarks gave up all their gains in
afternoon deals on account of a selling in private bank and IT stocks. However,
losses remained capped as traders took some solace with S&P Global Ratings'
statement that India is on track for an economic recovery in the fiscal year
ending March 2022. It said in a report titled Cross-Sector Outlook: India's
Escape From Covid that consistently good agriculture performance, a flattening
of the Covid-19 infection curve and a pickup in government spending are all
supporting the economy. Separately, the Department of Expenditure under the
Ministry of Finance has released the 16th weekly instalment of Rs 5,000 crore
to the States on Monday to meet the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation
shortfall. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 49.96 points or 0.10% to 52,104.17,
while the CNX Nifty was down by 1.25 points or 0.01% to 15,313.45.
The US markets
ended mostly lower on Tuesday, after climbing to new record intraday highs
early in the session, as some traders to cash in on the recent strength in the
markets. However, the early strength on markets largely reflected recent upward
momentum, which has propelled the major averages to new record highs despite a
lack of major catalysts. Optimism about additional stimulus from Washington has
helped prop up the markets as Democrats continue to move forward with President
Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion relief package. Recent signs indicating the
coronavirus crisis is easing following a recent surge has also generated buying
interest as countries around the world continue to ramp up vaccine rollouts. On
the economic data front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report
showing New York manufacturing activity grew at its fastest pace in months in
February. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed
to 12.1 in February from 3.5 in January, with a positive reading indicating
growth in regional manufacturing activity. Street had expected the index to
rise to 6.0. With the much bigger than expected increase, the general business
conditions index reached its highest level since hitting 17.0 last September.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Tuesday after oil wells and refineries in Texas were shut down due to cold.
Texas, the biggest crude producing state in the United States, produces roughly
4.6 million barrels of oil per day and is home to 31 refineries. Worries about
supply due to rising tensions in the Middle East following a drone attack by
Yemen's Houthi group on Saudi Arabian airports also contributed to oil's
advance. Crude oil futures for March gained $0.58 or 1 percent to settle at
$60.05 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. April Brent crude rose $0.17
or 0.27 percent to settle at $63.47 a barrel on London's Intercontinental
Exchange.
Indian rupee pared its initial
losses to close almost flat against the US dollar on Tuesday, amid a muted
trend in the domestic equity market. Traders paid no heed towards the commerce
ministry's data showing that growing for the second consecutive month, the
country's exports rose 6.16 per cent year-on-year to $27.45 billion in January
2021 following healthy growth in pharma and engineering sectors. Trade deficit
during the month narrowed to $14.54 billion from $15.3 billion in January 2020.
It was $15.44 billion in December 2020. Imports in January 2021 rose 2 per cent
to $42 billion. On the global front, the US dollar was mired at a three-week
low on Tuesday as growing optimism about the outlook of the global economy in
the coming months sent investors scurrying to purchase riskier currencies
including the euro, crown and the British pound. Finally, the rupee ended at
72.69, 1 paise weaker from its previous close of 72.68 on Monday.
The FIIs as per Tuesday's data
were net buyer in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 5753.07 crore against gross selling of Rs 3834.35 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1449.31 crore against gross
selling of Rs 825.16 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying
was of Rs 60.72 crore against gross selling of Rs 44.09 crore.
The US markets ended mostly lower
on Tuesday as the expectation that US policymakers will stick with significant
fiscal and monetary stimulus helped drive stocks higher while concerns over
rising interest rates weighed on some sectors. Asian markets are trading mostly
in red on Wednesday following muted trend on Wall Street overnight. Indian
markets ended flat with negative bias on Tuesday as losses in banking and IT
stocks overpowered gains in the metal and pharma space. Today, the start of
session is likely to be pessimistic tracking weakness in global markets. There
will be some cautiousness as India registered 11,795 fresh Covid-19 cases of
the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Active cases in India stand at 137,866,
while the caseload tally has risen to 10,937,106. The country continues to be
second-most-affected globally, and ranks 17th among worst-hit nations by active
cases. However, some respite may come later in the day with ICRA ratings report
that after two consecutive quarters of contraction, India's GDP is set to
revert to the growth territory in the October-December 2020 period compared to
the year-ago period. It said private consumption and government spending will
help the economy post a turnaround during the December quarter and the GDP will
grow 0.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) came out with the
draft guidelines for allowing derivatives trading in the credit default swaps
(CDS) in over-the-counter (OTC) markets and on recognised stock exchanges in
the country. Traders may take note of report that India is poised to clear some
new investment proposals from China in the coming weeks as frosty relations
between the two neighbouring countries thawed amid an easing in border
tensions. FMCG industry stocks will be in focus with a private report that the
FMCG industry in India has recorded a value growth of 7.3 percent in
October-December quarter helped by consumption-led recovery during the festive
period and increase in sales from traditional as well as organised trade. There
will be some reaction in NBFCs stocks with credit rating agency Crisil's report
that stressed assets of non-banking financial services companies (NBFCs) are
expected to reach Rs 1.5-1.8 lakh crore, or 6.0-7.5 percent of the asset under
management (AUM) by the end of the financial year 2021.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
15,313.45
|
15,226.51
|
15,416.06
|
BSE
Sensex
|
52,104.17
|
51,806.26
|
52,459.41
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
State
Bank of India
|
803.65
|
402.90
|
396.89
|
412.34
|
Oil
& Natural Gas Corporation
|
762.36
|
103.35
|
100.11
|
105.71
|
Tata
Motors
|
659.43
|
329.00
|
325.04
|
335.44
|
Power
Grid Corporation Of India
|
451.13
|
225.75
|
216.06
|
232.66
|
Tata
Steel
|
336.61
|
697.65
|
674.44
|
714.74
|
Wipro has entered into a five-year strategic partnership with Telefonica Germany / O2, a leading provider of mobile telecommunications, broadband and landline in Germany.
Tata Motors' wholly owned subsidiary -- JLR is planning to become a net zero carbon business by 2039 for which its Jaguar brand will become an all-electric luxury vehicle marque from 2025.
Titan Company's subsidiary -- CaratLane Trading has incorporated a Wholly Owned Subsidiary namely StudioC Inc.
Coal India's overall expenditure declined by 3.3 per cent to Rs 54,241 crore in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal.