Indian equity benchmarks
witnessed rollercoaster ride throughout the session to finally end with
marginal gains on Thursday, on fag-end value buying in Utilities, Power and Oil
& Gas stocks along with a positive opening in the European markets. The
indices oscillated between the red and the green throughout the session, as
continued foreign fund outflows dented domestic sentiments. The National Stock
Exchange's provisional data showed foreign institutional investors (FII) sold
shares worth Rs 1,271.25 crore on March 15. Some concern also came amid a
private report stating that it would be a tough task for the Indian economy to
reach the $5-trillion mark a year before the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
projection of 2026-27. Adding more worries among market participants, a
parliamentary panel has raised concerns over the marginal budgetary increase in
one of the key components of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana. It also
raised concern over the reduced allocation in the Digital India Land Records
Management Programme, saying both the schemes have remarkable impact on the
ground. However, in late afternoon session, equity benchmarks bounced back to
end in the positive territory as traders found support with IMF senior
representative to India Luis Breuer stating that the RBI was doing the right
thing on rate hikes, and added that there was need for more. Breuer also said
the Budget's focus on prudence and fiscal consolidation was a good step that
will reduce and stabilise public debt, which is quite high in the country
compared to other G20 countries. Some support also came with Commerce Secretary
Sunil Barthwal's statement that the government is expected to release the new
five-year foreign trade policy (FTP) by the end of this month, with a view to
promoting the country's outbound shipments of goods and services. Finally, the
BSE Sensex rose 78.94 points or 0.14% to 57,634.84 and the CNX Nifty was up by
13.45 points or 0.08% to 16,985.60.
The US markets ended higher on
Thursday following a private report stating that JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Morgan
Stanley (MS) and several other big banks are discussing a potential deal with
First Republic Bank (FRC). The potential deal could include a sizable capital
infusion to shore up the beleaguered lender. First Republic is working on
various potential options including a capital raise that could take various
forms. Besides, reports that Credit Suisse will borrow up to $54 billion from
the Swiss central bank to shore up liquidity and investor confidence also
helped ease recent concerns about turmoil in the banking sector. On the
sectoral front, banking stocks showed a significant turnaround over the course
of the session, the KBW Bank Index jumping by 2.6 percent after hitting its
lowest intraday level in over two years. On the economic data front, the Labor
Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment
benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended March 11th. The
report said initial jobless claims fell to 192,000, a decrease of 20,000 from
the previous week's revised level of 212,000. Street had expected jobless
claims to slip to 205,000 from the 211,000 originally reported for the previous
week. A separate report released by the Labor Department showed import prices
edged slightly lower in the month of February. The Labor Department said import
prices dipped by 0.1 percent in February after falling by a revised 0.4 percent
in January. Street had expected import prices to slip by 0.2 percent, matching
the decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Thursday on reports that Saudi Arabia's energy minister and Russia's deputy
prime minister met to discuss about ways to enhance market stability. Crude oil
prices were also supported by reports from OPEC and the International Energy
Agency that global oil demand will see an increase. Besides, improved risk
sentiment in financial markets contributed as well to the rise in oil prices.
Credit Suisse reportedly secured a lifeline from Swiss National Bank. Benchmark
crude oil futures for April delivery surged $0.74 or 1.1 percent to $68.35 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery rose
$1.37 or 1 percent to $74.70 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee tumbled against
dollar on Thursday amid mixed cues from global equity markets and foreign fund
outflows. Sentiments remained downbeat as commerce ministry in its latest data
has showed that India's Merchandise exports dipped by 8.8 per cent to $33.88
billion in February 2023 as compared to $37.15 billion in the same month last
year due to a slowdown in global demand. Besides, a private report stated that
it would be a tough task for the Indian economy to reach the $5-trillion mark a
year before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projection of 2026-27. On the
global front, Russian rouble fell towards its weakest mark against the dollar
in almost 11 months on Thursday, dragged down by sharply lower oil prices amid
fragile market sentiment over fears of a deepening crisis for banks worldwide. Finally,
the rupee ended at 82.77 (Provisional), weaker by 12 paise from its previous
close of 82.65 on Wednesday.
The FIIs as per Thursday's data
were net sellers in equity segment, while net buyers in debt segment. In equity
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5737.78 crore against gross selling of Rs
6984.47 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 956.75
crore against gross selling of Rs 835.58 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment,
the gross buying was of Rs 28.17 crore against gross selling of Rs 6.53 crore.
The US markets ended higher on
Thursday after a consortium of banks said it would aid First of Republic with
$30 billion deposits. Asian markets are trading in green on Friday following
cues from Wall Street. Indian markets snapped the five-day losing streak and
ended higher on Thursday on fag-end value buying in banking, energy and
financial stocks. Today, markets are likely to extend previous session's gains
with optimistic start as investors react to positive global cues and await next
week's FOMC meeting. Domestic sentiments will get some support with report that
liquidity support to Credit Suisse by the Swiss central bank helped ease some
of the worries about a global banking crisis. Traders may take note of rating
agency Crisil's statement that the India's economy is likely to log in 6 per
cent growth next fiscal, in line with consensus estimates, driven by an
increased capex by the private sector. It added the private sector capex is
expected to deliver double-digit revenue growth for the second year on the
trot. The economy is projected to grow 7 per cent this fiscal. Crisil further
said it expects the corporate revenue to log in double-digit rise again next
fiscal. Though, there may be some cautiousness amid continued foreign fund
outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold shares worth Rs 282.06
crore on March 17, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.
There will be some buzz in microfinance companies' stocks with a private report
that loan disbursals by microfinance companies increased 19 per cent to Rs
77,877 crore during December quarter 2022-23. The total microfinance loan
portfolio increased to Rs 3.21 lakh crore as on December 31, 2022. Textile
industry stocks will be in focus as Cotton Association of India (CAI) further
reduced its cotton crop estimate for the 2022-23 season to 313 lakh bales as
production is expected to decline in Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana. There
will be some reaction in thermal power industry stocks with report that thermal
power plants monitored by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had 33.5
million tonne of coal stock as on Sunday, which was sufficient to run them for
12 days at 85 per cent capacity utilization. Adani Group stocks will be in
limelight after stock exchanges removed three group companies from short-term
surveillance.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
16,985.60
|
16,869.69
|
17,081.99
|
BSE
Sensex
|
57,634.84
|
57,233.20
|
57,961.97
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata
Steel
|
810.88
|
105.30
|
103.59
|
107.14
|
State
Bank of India
|
200.40
|
525.65
|
516.85
|
531.90
|
Oil
& Natural Gas Corporation
|
185.52
|
153.00
|
149.54
|
154.94
|
Bharat
Petroleum Corporation
|
182.87
|
350.20
|
338.65
|
357.25
|
Hindalco
Industries
|
167.40
|
385.50
|
378.79
|
396.54
|
ITC's wholly owned subsidiary -- ITC Infotech India has incorporated wholly owned subsidiary in Germany under the name of ITC Infotech GmbH on March 10, 2023.
NTPC has commissioned first-of-its-kind commercial green coal project in Varanasi, which will make torrefied charcoal from municipal waste.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has signed a deal to divest certain non-core brands of the company in the dermatology segments to Eris Lifesciences.
HDFC Bank and Flipkart Wholesale have launched co-branded credit card for Flipkart Wholesale members.