Indian equity benchmarks extended
gains for the eighth straight session on Wednesday, propelled by intense buying
in Healthcare, IT and Auto stocks. A strengthening rupee and positive opening
in European markets further bolstered sentiment. Markets made a cautious start
as traders remained on sidelines ahead of macro-economic data -- consumer price
index (CPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) -- due to be released
later in the day. However, key gauges soon inched gradually higher as the day
progressed as traders continued to take support with the India Meteorological
Department (IMD), the state-run official weather agency, predicting normal
rains during this year's monsoon season - June to September - at 96 per cent of
the Long Period Average (LPA) in spite of the anticipated El Nino conditions.
Markets extended gains and traded at day's high points in late afternoon deals,
taking support from reports that foreign investors turned net buyers of Indian
shares over the past couple of sessions. Foreign investors bought about $1
billion in domestic equities from March 28 to April 10. Traders took note of
report that trade ministers of India and France have held discussions related
to the ongoing talks for a free trade agreement between India and the European
Union. The ministers discussed priority areas related to India - EU FTA (free
trade agreement) negotiations where issues related to market access were
deliberated. Investors awaited the kick-off of the fourth-quarter reporting season
with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to report result post market hours.
Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 235.05 points or 0.39% to 60,392.77 and the CNX
Nifty was up by 90.10 points or 0.51% to 17,812.40.
The US markets ended lower on
Wednesday after the minutes of the latest Fed meeting suggested the recent
banking sector turmoil could lead to a recession. The minutes of the March
21-22 meeting revealed that the staff's economic projection in light of the
banking sector turmoil included a mild recession starting later this year, with
a recovery over the subsequent two years. However, markets initially benefited
from a positive reaction to a Labor Department report showing U.S. consumer
prices increased by less than expected in the month of March. The Labor
Department said its consumer price index inched up by 0.1 percent in March
after climbing by 0.4 percent in February. Street had expected consumer prices
to rise by 0.3 percent. The report also showed the annual rate of consumer
price growth slowed to 5.0 percent in March from 6.0 percent in February. The
year-over-year growth was slower than the 5.2 percent expected by street and
marks the smallest 12-month increase since May 2021. The report also said core
consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.4 percent in
March after advancing by 0.5 percent in February. The increase matched street
estimates. On the sectoral front, Significant weakness emerged among
semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent slump by the Philadelphia
Semiconductor Index. Retail stocks also came under pressure over the course of
the session, with the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index falling by 1.6 percent.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Wednesday after tamer-than-expected inflation data contributed to an extended
pullback in the value of the U.S. dollar. The data led to speculation the
Federal Reserve is close to ending its interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, traders
largely shrugged off a report from the Energy Information Administration
showing an unexpected uptick in U.S. crude oil inventories in the week ended
April 7th. The report said crude oil inventories crept up by 0.6 million
barrels last week compared to expectations for a decrease of 0.6 million barrels.
Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery rose $1.73 or 2.12 percent to
settle at $83.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for
June delivery surged $1.72 or 2 percent to settle at $87.33 a barrel on
London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee ended higher against
the US dollar on Wednesday as buying in domestic equities bolstered investor
sentiment. Traders got support after International Monetary Fund (IMF)
projected India's retail inflation to ease to 4.9 per cent in FY24 from 6.7 per
cent in FY23, and the current account deficit to come down to 2.2 per cent of
GDP from an estimated 2.6 per cent a year ago. However, it slashed its economic
growth forecast for India by 20 basis points (bps) to 5.9 per cent for 2023-24 (FY24),
citing lesser scope for pent-up demand due to historical revisions to data. On
the global front, sterling held steady against the dollar and dipped against
the euro on Wednesday as traders waited for key U.S. inflation data as well as
comments from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. Finally, the rupee ended
at 82.09 (Provisional), stronger by 3 paise from its previous close of 82.12 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 7095.87 crore against gross selling of Rs
6065.41 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 847.62
crore against gross selling of Rs 1289.45 crore. Besides, in the hybrid
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 8.07 crore against gross selling of Rs 4.33
crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting
revealed concern among several members of the Federal Open Markets Committee
(FOMC) regarding the regional bank liquidity crisis. Asian markets are trading
mostly in red on Thursday following a lower close on Wall Street. Indian
markets ended higher for an eighth consecutive day on Wednesday amid sustained
inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Today, start of the last
trading session of holiday truncated week is likely to be cautious amid weak
global cues. There may be some volatility in the trade ahead of weekly F&O
expiry later in the day. Traders will be concerned over the growth prospects as
the UN Trade and Development Conference (UNCTAD) in its latest Trade and
Development Report Update stated that India's economic growth is projected to
decelerate to 6 per cent in 2023 from 6.6 per cent in 2022. It also expects
global growth in 2023 to drop to 2.1%, compared to the 2.2% projected in
September 2022, assuming the financial fallout from higher interest rates is
contained to the bank runs and bailouts of the first quarter. Traders may take
note of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that there is a need to
augment present global efforts, including those of the G-20 to address growing
debt distress across the globe, as she stressed on debt transparency and
information-sharing on this issue. However, some respite may come later in the
day as traders may react positively to encouraging macro-economic data. The
government data showed that CPI-based retail inflation in India eased further
and fell to a 15-month low of 5.66 per cent in March on an annual basis as food
inflation moderated on account of falling vegetable prices, offset in part by
surging cereal prices. Inflation stood at 6.95 per cent in March 2022. Also,
data from the Ministry of Statistics showed that India's industrial output, as
measured by the index of Industrial production or IIP, rose marginally to 5.6
per cent in February from 5.5 per cent in January 2023, mainly due to good
performance of the power, mining and manufacturing sectors. Some support will
come as the International Monetary Fund said India is expected to have a stable
debt-to-GDP ratio going forward. Meanwhile, the commerce ministry said trade
ministers of India and France have held discussions related to the ongoing
talks for a free trade agreement between India and the European Union.
Information and Technology (IT) industry stocks will be in focus after Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS) reported net profit of Rs 11,392 crore for Q4, up
14.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Investors await more of financial results
from India Inc for domestic cues, with Infosys due to post its earnings later
in the day.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and
BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
17,812.40
|
17,744.51
|
17,853.01
|
BSE
Sensex
|
60,392.77
|
60,179.10
|
60,522.05
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata
Steel
|
273.50
|
107.70
|
106.96
|
108.41
|
ICICI
Bank
|
226.86
|
891.00
|
883.54
|
895.24
|
State
Bank of India
|
212.92
|
529.15
|
525.44
|
533.44
|
Tata
Motors
|
135.52
|
464.95
|
459.24
|
469.64
|
Axis
Bank
|
134.80
|
851.95
|
846.85
|
856.85
|
BPCL has received an approval from the MP government for a revised proposal of Rs 43,000-crore to Rs 50,000-crore for the expansion of Bina Refinery and setting up of a petrochemical project.
Coal India's subsidiary -- Eastern Coalfields has commissioned its first highwall mining project at Nimcha Colliery in West Bengal.
Bharti Airtel has launched its cutting edge 5G services in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Adani Enterprises has incorporated a Wholly Owned Subsidiary company namely, Pelma Collieries.