Indian equity benchmarks ended
Friday's choppy session at record closing highs but with small gains, tracking
gains in index majors Infosys, Bajaj Auto and SBI. After making cautious start,
benchmarks traded with a negative bias for most part of the day, as pessimism
spread among the investors with a private report stated that venture
investments by private equity and venture capital funds were 27 percent lower
on yearly basis in November at $3.9 billion, and more than halved from the $8.5
billion reported in October. Some anxiety also came with a private report stating that the current
pandemic is likely to shape consumer thinking and consequently impact shopping
behaviour, and the overall consumption growth is likely to get delayed by up to
two years. It also said that the household consumption is going to be
negatively impacted over 2020 and 2021. Market participants also took a note of
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that the government has taken
several measures to support the economy but no amount of intervention will be
adequate to deal with the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. However,
last hour buying in select IT, TECK and healthcare stocks helped indices to
settle the day in the green. Some support came as ICRA pegged the contraction
in the economy at 7.8 per cent for 2020-21. Before the GDP numbers for Q2 were
out, it had predicted the fall in the economy at 11 per cent. It said improving
economic fundamentals, a bright outlook for the rabi season, and the visibility
of vaccine availability are expected to strengthen demand. Traders also found
some solace with Union Minister Piyush Goyal's statement that sustainability
has become an important element of decision-making both in the government and
the corporate sector of the country. He said sustainable development will
further enhance the scale and speed of growth in the years to come. Besides,
CBDT said further adding to the recovery signals, advance tax payment by companies
has shown a massive 49 per cent growth to Rs 1,09,506 crore in the third
quarter this fiscal. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 70.35 points or 0.15% to
46,960.69, while the CNX Nifty was up by 19.85 points or 0.14% to 13,760.55.
The US markets ended lower on
Friday on account of profit taking, as traders cashed in on recent gains after
yesterday's climb to record closing highs. Optimism about a new fiscal stimulus
bill contributed to the strength on Thursday, although traders may be waiting
for more concrete developments before continuing to push stocks higher. In
remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken.,
said an agreement on a new relief package appears to be close at hand and
suggested lawmakers are likely to work through the weekend to reach a deal.
Upbeat news on the coronavirus vaccine front helped limit the downside for the
markets, with an FDA advisory panel giving a positive recommendation to
Moderna's (MRNA) vaccine candidate. Upbeat news on the coronavirus vaccine
front helped limit the downside for the markets, with an FDA advisory panel
giving a positive recommendation to Moderna's (MRNA) vaccine candidate. On the
economic data front, a report released by the Conference Board showed its index
of leading US economic indicators increased by slightly more than expected in
the month of November. The Conference Board said its leading economic index
rose by 0.6 percent in November after climbing by 0.8 percent in October.
Street had expected the index to increase by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Friday amid hopes that energy demand will pick up gradually following another
coronavirus vaccine getting the nod from the US drug regulator. The recent data
from Energy Information Administration (EIA) that showed a sharp drop in crude
oil stockpiles last week continued to support oil prices. Oil is also
continuing to be supported by the recent decision of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies to slow the pace of a planned increase
in supplies next year. According to a report released by Baker Hughes, the
number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by 5 to 263 this week,
continuing to rise for a fourth straight week. The total active U.S. rig count,
including those drilling for natural gas, increased by 8 to 346. Crude oil
futures for January gained $0.74 or 1.5 percent to settle at $49.10 a barrel on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. February Brent crude rose nearly 1.5 percent
to settle at $52.26 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee ended marginally
higher against dollar on Friday, on persistent selling of the American currency
by exporters. Traders remained positive as ICRA pegged the contraction in the
economy at 7.8 per cent for 2020-21. Before the GDP numbers for Q2 were out, it
had predicted the fall in the economy at 11 per cent. It said improving
economic fundamentals, a bright outlook for the rabi season, and the visibility
of vaccine availability are expected to strengthen demand. On the global front;
pound fell on Friday, reversing some of its recent gains, as EU chief
negotiator Michel Barnier warned that there were just hours left to reach a
Brexit trade deal with London. Finally, the rupee ended at 73.56, 3 paise
stronger from its previous close of 73.59 on Thursday.
The FIIs as per Friday's data
were net buyer in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 8906.82 crore against gross selling of Rs 6273.46 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 640.10 crore with gross sales
of Rs 305.79 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs
12.83 crore against gross selling of Rs 15.29 crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Friday pulled down by uncertainty around a coronavirus stimulus deal. Asian
markets are trading mixed on Monday as investors gave a cautious welcome to news
a deal had been struck on a long-awaited US stimulus bill, though difficult
Brexit talks dragged on with no agreement in sight. Indian markets ended flat
but at record highs for the fifth straight session led by gains in IT, pharma
and FMCG sectors. Today, the markets are likely to make negative start of new
week tracking weakness in global peers amid rising coronavirus cases and fresh
lockdowns in some countries. With 24,589 fresh Covid-19 cases, India's caseload
stood at 10,056,248. The country's death toll has mounted to 145,843. With
1,896,518 cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases,
followed by Karnataka 909,469, Andhra Pradesh 878,723, Tamil Nadu 806,000, and
Kerala 705,869. However, some respite may come later in the day with Union
Minister Anurag Singh Thakur's statement that India has the potential to
achieve double-digit growth through a healthy dose of digital services and
manufacturing base expansion which will be driven by demand from the rural
sector, youth and the aspirational middle class. Some support may come with
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that India would be the engine
of global growth, along with a few other countries, contributing to the revival
of the global economy in a significant way. Traders may take note of report
that foreign portfolio investors (FPI) pumped in Rs 54,980 crore in Indian
markets in December so far amidst availability of excess liquidity in global
markets and expectation of fresh stimulus package by various central banks,
among others. There will be some buzz in power stocks as India's power
consumption grew 4.8 percent to 50.36 billion units (BU) in the first half of
December this year, compared to 48.04 BU during December 1-15 last year,
showing consistency in economic activities. Banking stocks will be in focus as
the RBI data showed that bank credit grew by 5.73 percent to Rs 105.04 lakh
crore while deposits increased by 11.34 percent to Rs 145.92 lakh crore in the
fortnight ended December 4. There will be some reaction in jewelry industry
stocks as the data from the commerce ministry showed that gold imports fell 40
per cent to $12.3 billion during April-November due to fall in demand in the
wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sugar industry stocks will be in limelight as
the government cannot reduce the minimum price at which sugar mills have to
purchase sugarcane from farmers.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
13,760.55
|
13,688.49
|
13,802.74
|
BSE
Sensex
|
46,960.69
|
46,718.66
|
47,114.37
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata
Motors
|
460.65
|
180.55
|
177.64
|
182.49
|
Oil
& Natural Gas Corporation
|
364.81
|
99.00
|
97.34
|
101.49
|
NTPC
|
335.97
|
103.75
|
102.80
|
104.75
|
State
Bank of India
|
298.16
|
271.45
|
266.99
|
273.94
|
Tata
Steel
|
253.51
|
631.25
|
625.89
|
638.74
|
Cipla's step-down associate company Avenue Therapeutics has received an update from the US health regulator for its new drug application for intravenous tramadol.
Reliance Industries and bp have started production from the R Cluster, ultra-deep-water gas field in block KG D6 off the east coast of India.
Infosys has divested one-third of its holding in US-based wearable device startup Whoop for about $10 million (about Rs 73.5 crore).
Hero MotoCorp has donated a specially designed First Responder Vehicle to the health authorities in Jagraon, Ludhiana.