Indian equity
benchmarks swung between gains and losses throughout the session and ended
marginally lower on Wednesday, as investors' monitored situation between Russia
and Ukriane. Key gauges made positive start, as traders took some support with
SBI research report stated that India can add $20 billion to its Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) if the country can reduce by 50 per cent the dependence on
imports from China by leveraging the production linked incentive schemes.
However, indices turned choppy and extended losses in morning deals, as traders
turned cautious with government data showing that exports from special economic
zones (SEZs) grew at a slower pace as compared to the growth of overall
outbound shipments from the country during the first eight months of the
current fiscal year. Traders also took note of a private report expected that
RBI to leave key policy rates unchanged throughout the first half of 2022,
despite retail inflation rising to 6.01 per cent in January, and likely to
remain elevated till April. After the initial fall, the benchmark tried to inch
higher in afternoon deals, taking support from the Finance Ministry's Monthly
Economic Review stated that the Indian economy is poised to grow at the
quickest pace among the league of large nations on the back of various
initiatives taken by the government in Budget 2022-23. It said the current year
may as well end with an economic reset manifest of a post-COVID-19 world.
Manufacturing and Construction will be the 'growth drivers', triggered by the
PLI schemes and public capex in infrastructure. However profit taking in the
final hours pared all the gains and pushed the indices lower. Finally, the BSE
Sensex fell 145.37 points or 0.25% to 57,996.68 and the CNX Nifty was down by
30.25 points or 0.17% to 17,322.20.
The US markets ended mostly lower
on Wednesday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January monetary policy
meeting reiterated the view that it would soon be appropriate to begin raising
interest rate but were not as hawkish as some had feared. The minutes showed
most participants agreed it would be appropriate to remove policy accommodation
at a faster pace than currently anticipated if inflation does not move down as
expected. On the economic data front, a report from the Commerce Department
showed a substantial rebound in US retail sales in the month of January. The
Commerce Department said retail sales soared by 3.8 percent in January after
plunging by a revised 2.5 percent in December. Street had expected retail sales
to jump by 2.0 percent compared to the 1.9 percent slump originally reported
for the previous month. Excluding a sharp increase in motor vehicle and parts
sales, retail sales still spiked by 3.3 percent in January following a 2.8
percent nosedive in December. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.8
percent. The Labor Department also released a separate report showing US import
prices increased by much more than expected in the month of January. The report
said import prices surged up by 2.0 percent in January after falling by a
revised 0.4 percent in December. The spike in import prices reflected the
biggest monthly increase since April of 2011. Street had expected import prices
to jump by 1.0 percent compared to the 0.2 percent dip originally reported for
the previous month. On the sectoral front, Gold stocks moved sharply higher
over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.3
percent to its best closing level in three months. The rally by gold stocks
came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for April
delivery climbing $15.30 to $1,871.50 an ounce.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Wednesday, rebounding after suffering a sharp setback in the previous session,
as investors weighed conflicting statements on the possible withdrawal of some
Russian troops from around Ukraine amid recovering fuel demand. Meanwhile, data
from Energy Information Administration showed US crude stockpiles rose by 1.12
million barrels in the week ended February 12, rising after seeing declines in
the previous two weeks. Gasoline inventories dropped by 1.33 million barrels
last week, falling for a second successive week, while distillate stockpiles
fell 1.55 million barrels, dropping for a fifth straight week. Benchmark crude
oil futures for March delivery rose $1.59 or 1.7 percent to settle at $93.66 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery
gained $0.68 or 0.73 percent to settle at $93.96 a barrel on London's
Intercontinental Exchange.
Rising for the second consecutive
day, Indian rupee ended higher against dollar amid signs of de-escalation in
the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russian defence ministry stated that
it's an end of Crimea military drills. The Russian defence ministry shared a
video of Russian military equipment and forces leaving Crimea. The move comes
after Moscow said that some of its troops are returning to home bases,
indicating cooling of tensions regarding the Ukraine issue. Additional support
came in as SBI research report stated that India can add $20 billion to its
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) if the country can reduce by 50 per cent the
dependence on imports from China by leveraging the production linked incentive
schemes. On the global front, dollar edged slightly lower on Wednesday as
investors became less worried about the risk of Russia invading Ukraine and
waited for the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's January
meeting. Finally, the rupee ended at 75.09 (Provisional), stronger by 23 paise
from its previous close of 75.32 on Tuesday.
The FIIs as per Wednesday's data
were net sellers in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 6907.48 crore against gross selling of Rs 8298.60 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 203.82 crore against gross
selling of Rs 465.63 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying
was of Rs 26.62 crore against gross selling of Rs 25.14 crore.
The US markets ended mostly lower
on Wednesday as investors heaved a sigh of relief after Fed FOMC release
minutes indicated that the Fed intends to raise interest rates, but it would be
done at a moderate pace. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Thursday
amid mixed global cues. Indian markets ended volatile in red on Wednesday amid
selling pressure in the final hour of the trade as investors tracked the
Ukraine crisis. Today, markets are likely to start session in the positive zone
following Asian peers. Traders will be taking encouragement as the finance
ministry said with the muted impact of the third wave of the pandemic on
economic activity, the Indian economy may undergo an economic reset by end of
the year, clocking 9 per cent growth in 2021-22 (FY22) and around 8 per cent in
2022-23 (FY23). Some support will come as an RBI article stated that the
2022-23 Budget proposals and the recent monetary policy announcements have set
the tone for a durable and broad-based economic revival which has started
gaining traction as the nation emerges from the third wave of the COVID-19
pandemic. Traders may take note of Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Hardeep Singh Puri's statement that while the government is prepared for any
situation arising from the rise in crude oil prices, the steep increase in
prices has not impacted domestic demand so far. However, there may be some
cautiousness as Acuite Ratings & Research said India's FY22 current account
deficit faces mild upside risk from high commodity prices. The wider
merchandise trade deficits pulled India's Q2FY22 current account into the negative
territory. There will be some buzz in the jewelary industry stocks as industry
body GJEPC said Gems and jewellery exports rose by 6.5 per cent to $32.37
billion during April-January this fiscal. The exports stood at $30.40 billion
in the same period of the previous year. Edible oil industry stocks will be in
focus as industry body SEA said the country's oilmeal export declined by 65 per
cent year-on-year to 1.76 lakh tonnes in January this year, mainly due to fall
in shipments of soyabean and rapeseed meal. In January 2021, the country's
oilmeal export stood at 5.01 lakh tonnes. There will be some reaction in mines
and mineral industry stocks as the mines ministry said India's mineral
production rose 2.6 per cent in December 2021 over the same month a year ago.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
17,322.20
|
17,223.06
|
17,455.96
|
BSE
Sensex
|
57,996.68
|
57,661.56
|
58,450.50
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata Motors
|
201.76
|
497.45
|
493.40
|
504.70
|
State Bank of India
|
197.73
|
515.00
|
510.00
|
524.00
|
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
|
159.60
|
168.50
|
165.70
|
170.10
|
Power Grid Corporation of India
|
152.02
|
196.30
|
194.34
|
199.64
|
NTPC
|
129.46
|
133.10
|
131.74
|
135.59
|
Infosys' business process management subsidiary -- Infosys BPM is planning to hire 400 skilled customer services workers in Costa Rica this year.
Tech Mahindra's wholly owned subsidiary -- Tech Mahindra (Singapore) has approved the proposal to acquire 80% equity shares in Geomatic.ai.
Mankind Pharma has inked a pact with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories to acquire two brands -- Combihale and Daffy.
GAIL (India) is planning to lay a pipeline to Srinagar to take the environmentally friendly natural gas to the Kashmir Valley as it doubles down on efforts to expand infrastructure to helm the government vision of a gas-based economy.