Dalal Street suffered deep losses
on Wednesday, with both Sensex and Nifty ending near their intraday low points,
as bears held a tight grip over the markets. Investors await an official
quarterly reading of India's GDP for more clarity on the state of the economy
and the future course of interest rates. After a negative start, weakness
persisted for the whole trading day, as traders got concerned after the State
Bank of India (SBI) projected a GDP growth of 4.6% for the December quarter,
citing that as many as 30 high frequency indicators are not as robust as they
were in the previous quarters. Besides, India Ratings projected a dip in FY24
growth to 5.9%, lower than Reserve Bank's 6.4%. Losses got intensified during
the second half of the trading session, amid weakness across global markets.
Russia's nuclear rhetoric and the threat of world war remained on the minds of
investors. Domestic sentiments remained negative, amid a private report stating
that the Reserve Bank of India will increase its main interest rate by 25 basis
points to 6.75% in April and then pause until the end of 2023. Traders took a
note of another private report stating that the Indian rupee's expected
volatility against the dollar over the next one month hit its lowest level in
almost seven months on Tuesday, February 21, tracking the currency's recent
narrow trading range and on expectations of the central bank's continued
support. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 927.74 points or 1.53% to 59,744.98 and
the CNX Nifty was down by 272.40 points or 1.53% to 17,554.30.
The US markets ended mostly lower
on Wednesday following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's
January 31-February 1 monetary policy meeting. The minutes revealed a few
participants favored raising rates by 50 basis points compared to the 25 basis
point rate hike that was ultimately announced. The Fed said the participants
favoring a 50-basis point increase noted that a larger increase would more
quickly bring the target range close to the levels they believed would achieve
a sufficiently restrictive stance, taking into account their views of the risks
to achieving price stability in a timely way. The Fed members eventually
agreed to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points
to 4.50 to 4.75 percent. The smaller rate hike came after the central bank
raised rates by 75 basis points in November and by 50 basis points in December.
The minutes noted all participants continued to anticipate that ongoing rate
increases would be appropriate to achieve the Fed's dual goals of maximum
employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. The
minutes acknowledged that inflationary pressures have moderated but noted price
growth remains well above the Fed's 2 percent target, with labor market
tightness contributing to continuing upward pressures on wages and prices. The
Fed's next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for March 21-22.
Crude oil futures ended deeply in
red on Wednesday as investors became more concerned that recent economic data
will mean more aggressive interest rate increases by central banks. Minutes
from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting showed a majority of Fed officials
agreed that the risks of high inflation remained a key factor shaping monetary
policy and warranted continued rate hikes until it was controlled. Besides, the
U.S. dollar Index gained for a second straight session, making
greenback-denominated oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. Benchmark
crude oil futures for April delivery fell $2.41 or 3.1 percent to $73.95 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery
dropped $2.45 or 3 percent at $80.60 a barrel on London's Intercontinental
Exchange.
Indian rupee tumbled against
dollar on Wednesday, as intense selling pressure in domestic equities and a
strong greenback overseas dented the sentiment. Traders were concerned as U.S.
Treasury yields hit new highs on expectations that the Federal Reserve will
keep raising rates for longer than anticipated. Further, weakness prevailed
after India Ratings projected a dip in FY24 growth to 5.9%, lower than Reserve
Bank's 6.4%. On the global front, dollar and sterling found support on
Wednesday after a surprise rebound in business activity in the United States
and the UK raised the likelihood that their respective central banks would have
further to go in raising interest rates. Finally, the rupee ended at 82.89
(Provisional), weaker by 10 paise from its previous close of 82.79 on Tuesday.
The FIIs as per Wednesday's data
were net buyers in equity segment, while net sellers in debt segment. In equity
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5750.38 crore against gross selling of Rs
4721.62 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 719.69
crore against gross selling of Rs 1439.08 crore. Besides, in the hybrid
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 16.52 crore against gross selling of Rs
39.11 crore.
The US markets ended mostly in
red on Wednesday as Federal Reserve officials hinted that there were signs of
inflation coming down, but not enough to pause more rate hikes. Asian markets
are trading mixed on Thursday tracking weakness on Wall Street overnight.
Indian markets tumbled on Wednesday, along with global peers, on resurgent
worries that the US Federal Reserve may have to raise interest rates more than
what the Street has been factoring in. Today, markets are likely to get
flat-to-positive start on a monthly F&O expiry day amid mixed cues from
global peers. Some support will come as
ahead of the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in
Bengaluru, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated that India's strong
performance remains a bright spot in an uncertain global economy. Traders may
take note of International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina
Georgieva's statement that India, which has taken it upon itself to be carbon
neutral by 2070, could achieve this ambitious goal even earlier. However,
foreign fund outflows likely to dent sentiments in domestic markets. Foreign
institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 579.82 crore on February 22,
NSE's provisional data showed. Traders may be concerned as the latest
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade data showed that
foreign direct investment (FDI) into India declined by 15 per cent to $36.75
billion during the April-December this fiscal. The FDI inflows stood at $43.17
billion during the corresponding period of the previous year. There may be some
cautiousness as the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)'s Feb 6-8
meeting showed an increasing degree of concern among most members over
persistent inflationary pressures, with the rate-setting panel largely flagging
stubbornly high core inflation. Coal industry stocks will be in focus as the
coal ministry said that 27 coal mines would be put on sale in the next round of
commercial mines auction starting from February 27. There will be some reaction in power
generating companies' stocks with report that power generating companies that
incur high variable costs due to fuel expenses and other charges will soon able
to sell electricity at a price of up to Rs 50 per unit on energy exchanges.
Support
and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
17,554.30
|
17,465.00
|
17,708.05
|
BSE
Sensex
|
59,744.98
|
59,463.38
|
60,244.73
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata Steel
|
243.91
|
111.15
|
109.96
|
113.01
|
State Bank of India
|
147.63
|
516.75
|
512.20
|
521.60
|
ICICI Bank
|
138.81
|
837.45
|
830.10
|
849.45
|
NTPC
|
122.25
|
170.55
|
168.30
|
173.00
|
Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone
|
109.94
|
540.95
|
526.11
|
569.66
|
State Bank of India has successfully raised Rs 4,544 crore through Non-Convertible, Taxable, Perpetual, Subordinated, Unsecured, Fully Paid Up Basel III compliant AT 1 Bonds at a coupon of 8.20% p.a.
Coal India is in the process of converting its abandoned mines into eco-parks which have become popular as eco-tourism destinations.
Wipro's innovation lab -- Wipro Lab45 has launched its DICE ID, which puts users in control of their personal data and enables faster, easier and secure sharing of private information online.
M&M has entered into an Asset Transfer agreement with MEAL for transfer of certain identified assets pertaining to the 4 Wheel Passenger Electric Vehicles to MEAL; the transfer of balance assets to be completed by June 30, 2026.