Indian equity benchmarks ended
the Friday's trade on a weaker note as traders remain worried on report that
Federal Reserve might raise interest rates three more times this year, by a
quarter of a percentage point each, after data this week indicated to hot
inflation and labor market resilience. Markets made a pessimistic start
mirroring weakness in global markets amid fears of higher interest rates. Soon,
domestic gauges pared most of their initial losses as traders took support with
a private report that India's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow
at 6.2 per cent in FY24 as drivers of domestic demand remain intact amid fears
of an impending slowdown. However, the recovery proved short lived and markets
once again moved southward. In afternoon deals, bourses tested their crucial
60,800 (Sensex) and 17,880(Nifty) levels as traders opted to sell their risky
bets amid global uncertainty. Weakness in currency markets too dampened
sentiments. The rupee depreciated 14 paise to close at 82.84 (provisional)
against the US currency as the strength of the American currency in the
overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities weighed on investor
sentiments. Traders shrugged off Economic think tank Global Trade Research
Initiative's report where it said that India's merchandise exports have
recorded a healthy growth in both value and volume terms in 2022. The outbound
shipments rose by 14.6 per cent year-on-year to $453.3 billion in 2022. Traders
took note of report that Former Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said the
Budget should have focused more on asset monetisation and privatisation,
besides allocating more funds to the social sector schemes. Small set of
recovery in dying hours of trade helped key gauges to regain their crucial
61,000 (Sensex) and 17,900 (Nifty) levels as traders went for value buying in
late trade. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 316.94 points or 0.52% to 61,002.57
and the CNX Nifty was down by 91.65 points or 0.51% to 17,944.20.
The US markets trimmed their
initial losses with Nasdaq and S&P 500 settling lower but Dow reached
positive territory on Friday. Initial weakness came amid ongoing concerns about
the outlook for interest rates following the week's batch of economic data.
Reports on consumer and producer price inflation and retail sales have led to
worries the Federal Reserve could raise rates higher than currently
anticipated. Recent comments from Fed officials have added to the concerns,
with some suggesting the central bank could raise rates by another 50 basis
points next month. However, selling pressure has waned over the course of the
session, with a report showing a continued decrease in U.S. import prices
potentially helping to offset the negative sentiment. The Labor Department said
import prices dipped by 0.2 percent in January after edging down by a revised
0.1 percent in December. The modest decrease matched street estimates. With
import prices declining for the seventh straight month, the annual rate of growth
slowed to 0.8 percent in January from 3.0 percent in December. The
year-over-year growth was much slower than the 2.9 percent expected by market
participants and reflects the slowest annual growth since December 2020. The
recovery attempt also came as treasury yields showed a notable turnaround, with
the benchmark ten-year yield pulling back off its highest levels in well over a
month.
Magnifying their losses for
fourth straight session, crude oil futures ended significantly lower on Friday
as a round of tough talk on inflation from central bankers stoked renewed
concerns about an economic slowdown. Traders expressed concerns about the
impact the Fed raising rates higher than currently anticipated will have on
energy demand. Worries about supply also weighed on oil prices following recent
U.S. inventory data and a report from the Vedomosti newspaper suggesting
Russian oil producers expect to maintain current volumes of crude oil exports.
Benchmark crude oil futures for March delivery fell $2.15 or 2.7 percent to
$76.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April
delivery lost $2.14 or 2.5 percent at $83 a barrel on London's Intercontinental
Exchange.
Rupee settled lower against
dollar on Friday as the strength of the American currency in the overseas
market and a muted trend in domestic equities weighed on investors' sentiments.
Sentiments largely dampened as strong U.S. data released overnight coupled with
hawkish Fed remarks fueled inflation and rate-hike worries. Traders shrugged off
Economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative's report where it said
that India's merchandise exports have recorded a healthy growth in both value
and volume terms in 2022. The outbound shipments rose by 14.6 per cent
year-on-year to $453.3 billion in 2022. On the global front, Russian rouble
fell past 75 to the dollar on Friday, extending a recent weakening trend
sparked by embargoes on Russian oil products and the steady recovery of
imports, which has raised demand for foreign currency. Finally, the rupee ended
at 82.84 (Provisional), weaker by 14 paise from its previous close of 82.70 on
Thursday.
The FIIs as per Friday's data
were net buyers in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 8683.34 crore against gross selling of Rs 6653.88 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 806.02 crore against gross
selling of Rs 730.70 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying
was of Rs 37.31 crore against gross selling of Rs 46.12 crore.
The US markets ended mostly in
red on Friday weighed down by Microsoft and Nvidia as investors worried that
inflation and a strong US economy could put the Federal Reserve on pace for
more interest rate hikes. Asian markets are trading mixed on Monday as China
left its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.65 per cent and 4.3
per cent, respectively, for February. Indian markets declined on Friday
following hawkish statements by Federal Reserve and European Central Bank
officials who brought back fears of even higher interest rates. Today, markets
are likely to get flat-to-positive start amid mixed global cues. Foreign
investors have shifted their focus back on the Indian equity markets as they
turned net buyers with an investment of over Rs 7,600 crore in the week ended
February 17. Traders will be taking encouragement as former Niti Aayog Vice
Chairman Rajiv Kumar said India is likely to clock 6 percent growth rate next
fiscal and the country can persevere with a high growth rate because of several
reforms undertaken during the last eight years by the Narendra Modi government.
Some support will come as Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said
India's exports are expected to grow by 3-5 per cent to $435-445 billion in
this fiscal. Besides, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said India is
targeting seven per cent growth in economy this year and we expect it to cross
it in the next five years. Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman, after the 49th GST Council meeting, has said the entire outstanding
GST (goods and services tax) compensation cess dues to states for the five-year
period will be cleared, with the payment of Rs 16,982 crore remaining for June
2022 and an additional Rs 16,524 crore to six states. However, there may be
some cautiousness as the Reserve Bank of India's latest data showed that
India's foreign exchange reserves declined by $8.31 billion to $566.94 billion
in the week ending on February 10. India's reserves fell 8.3%, logging the
biggest decline in more than 11 months. There will be some buzz in the aviation
industry stocks as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) stated
that Indian domestic air travel has significantly improved as it touched 85.7
per cent of pre-covid 2019 levels in the year 2022. Auto industry stocks will
be in focus as in a bid to give a boost to semiconductor manufacturing in the
country, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini
Vaishnaw announced that the government will come up with a program very soon to
put the country on a good semiconductor journey for the next 10 years.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and
BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
17,944.20
|
17,874.45
|
18,024.10
|
BSE
Sensex
|
61,002.57
|
60,774.58
|
61,266.63
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata Steel
|
341.07
|
112.10
|
111.24
|
113.04
|
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
|
198.75
|
156.50
|
154.34
|
158.74
|
State Bank of India
|
141.92
|
530.65
|
525.71
|
537.61
|
NTPC
|
101.82
|
167.70
|
166.21
|
169.41
|
ICICI Bank
|
99.91
|
862.00
|
855.59
|
867.99
|
Tata Steel has successfully completed the first multi-modal shipment of 960 tonnes of TMT bars from West Bengal's Haldia Port to Tripura's Agartala.
HDFC has raised Rs 25,000 crore of 10-year money by issuing non-convertible debentures carrying a coupon rate of 7.97 per cent per annum.
Bharti Airtel has added 15,26,419 customers in December 2022.
Coal India's subsidiary -- NCL is eyeing the removal of 410 MCuM of overburden material from its various coal mines in the current fiscal (FY23).