Indian equity benchmarks snapped
their 2-day losing streak and ended higher with gains of around half percent on
Monday, aided by buying across Utilities, Power and Metal stocks. Benchmarks
made a cautious start amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional
investors (FII) sold shares worth net Rs 266.98 crore on August 18. Some
cautiousness also came in as retail inflation for farm and rural workers inched
up to 7.43 per cent and 7.26 per cent in July compared to 6.31 per cent and 6.16
per cent, respectively, in June this year, mainly due to higher prices of
certain food items. However, markets soon gained traction as traders got
support after Moody's Investors Service affirmed India's sovereign rating at Baa3
with stable outlook and said high growth will support a gradual increase in
income levels, which will further contribute to economic strength. It expects
India's economic growth to outpace all other G20 economies through at least the
next two years, driven by domestic demand. Markets extended gains in second
half of trading session, as sentiments remained up-beat with latest data by the
Reserve Bank of India showing that India's foreign exchange reserves snapped a
three-week losing streak and increased by $708 million to $602 billion in the
week ended August 11. The rise in the reserves was mainly on account of an
increase in the foreign currency assets, which grew by $999 million to $534
billion in the previous week. Some optimism also came with Minister of State
for Road Transport, Highways and Civil Aviation Gen V K Singh stating that with
the Centre's focus on development and infrastructure, India has gained the
trust of many countries, which have come forward to invest in the country.
Additional support also came with report stating that a healthy growth in
India's services segments has helped the country's total exports and imports of
goods and services to cross the $800 billion mark during the first half of
2023, despite a slowdown in global demand. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 267.43
points or 0.41% to 65,216.09 and the CNX Nifty was up by 83.45 points or 0.43%
to 19,393.60.
The US markets ended mostly
higher on Monday. Technology stocks helped lead the rebound, resulting in a
substantial gain by the Nasdaq. The spike by the Nasdaq came as traders picked
up tech stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, with the index
bouncing off its lowest closing level in two months. Cybersecurity company Palo
Alto Networks (PANW) posted a standout gain after reporting better than
expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings. However, a steep drop by Johnson &
Johnson contributed to the dip by the Dow, with the healthcare giant slumping
by 3.0 percent. Meanwhile, trades continued to look ahead to the economic
summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where major central bankers are congregating
later in the week to deliberate on monetary policy. Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook before the Jackson
Hole Economic Symposium on Friday. On the sectoral front, semiconductor stocks
moved sharply higher over the course of the session, resulting in a 2.8 percent
spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. significant strength also
emerged among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent jump by the Dow
Jones U.S. Software Index. Biotechnology and computer hardware stocks also
turned in strong performances on the day, contributing to the surge by the
Nasdaq.
Crude oil futures settled lower
on Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to a slowing
Chinese economy. Meanwhile, traders were focusing on preliminary U.S. August
PMI data and the Federal Reserve's annual economic symposium at Jackson Hole
both due later this week. However, the extension of production cuts by OPEC and
allies helped limit the downside in oil prices. Benchmark crude oil futures for
September delivery fell $0.53 or about 0.7 percent to settle at $80.72 a barrel
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery declined
$0.54 or 0.7 percent to settle at $80.12 a barrel on London's Intercontinental
Exchange.
The Indian rupee ended weaker
against the US dollar on Monday weighed down by a surge in crude oil prices and
selling pressure by foreign investors. Traders were cautious as retail
inflation for farm and rural workers inched up to 7.43 per cent and 7.26 per
cent in July compared to 6.31 per cent and 6.16 per cent, respectively, in June
this year, mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. Investors
overlooked report stating that Moody's Investors Service affirmed India's
sovereign rating at Baa3 with stable outlook and said high growth will support
a gradual increase in income levels, which will further contribute to economic
strength. It expects India's economic growth to outpace all other G20 economies
through at least the next two years, driven by domestic demand. On the global
front, the dollar held firm on Monday following five straight weeks of gains,
as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium for
guidance on where rates might settle when the dust of this hiking cycle clears.
Finally, the rupee ended at 83.13 (Provisional), weaker by 3 paise from its
previous close of 83.10 on Friday.
The FIIs as per Monday's data
were net buyers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 12347.08 crore against gross selling of Rs 11772.23 crore,
while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1721.26 crore with
gross sales of Rs 334.41 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 35.21 crore against gross selling of Rs 14.31 crore.
The US markets ended mostly
higher on Monday as investors were optimistic ahead of its earnings this week,
and other technology-related stocks gaining. Asian markets are trading mostly
in green on Tuesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. Indian markets
ended higher on Monday even as global cues remained jittery. Buying was visible
in IT, financial and power and Adani Group stocks. Today, domestic indices are
likely to get flat-to-negative start amid lackluster global cues after the US
10-year bond yield surged. Foreign fund outflows likely to dent sentiments.
According to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional
investors (FII) sold shares worth net Rs 1,901.10 crore on August 21. Traders
will be concerned as think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said
India's exports and imports of goods and services declined 2.5% on-year in
January-June 2023 at $800.9 billion. Exports of goods and services rose 1.5% to
$385.4 billion in the first six months of the calendar year as against $379.5
billion in the corresponding period a year ago while imports dipped 5.9% to
$415.5 billion from $441.7 billion in January-June 2022. However, some support
may come as the latest payroll data released by the Employees' Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) showed that the number of fresh formal jobs increased for
the third consecutive month in June to hit a 9-month high, thus signalling a
sustained recovery in the labour markets in the first quarter of financial year
2023-24 (FY24). Traders may take note of a private report that the value of
foreign portfolio investors' holdings in the domestic equities reached $626
billion in the three months ended June 2023, which was 20 per cent higher from
the year-ago period. Besides, global industry body WFDSA said India has moved
up to 11th position in the ranking of top markets of direct sellers, with
retail sales of $3.23 billion (around Rs 26,852 crore) in 2022. Telecom stocks
will be in focus as the government data showed that the telecommunications
(telecom) sector witnessed a 2.53 per cent sequential growth in adjusted gross
revenue (AGR), reaching Rs 64,494 crore in the January-March quarter (fourth
quarter, or Q4) of 2022-23 (FY23).
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
19,393.60
|
19,317.95
|
19,447.60
|
BSE
Sensex
|
65,216.09
|
64,933.92
|
65,417.04
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Jio Financial Services
|
747.15
|
248.90
|
244.51
|
257.66
|
Tata Steel
|
226.30
|
116.80
|
116.06
|
117.31
|
Adani Ports
|
174.32
|
857.55
|
842.66
|
868.26
|
ICICI Bank
|
133.58
|
952.85
|
947.74
|
958.64
|
NTPC
|
133.37
|
219.15
|
216.71
|
220.56
|
Hero MotoCorp is eyeing at sustainable growth, enhancing market share across segments on the back of new product launches over the next few quarters.
ONGC's overseas arm -- ONGC Videsh has secured another three-year extension to explore oil and gas in a Vietnamese block in the contested waters of the South China Sea.
Bajaj Finance has raised Rs 304.21 crore through the allotment of 3,000 Secured Redeemable NCDs, at the face value of Rs 10 lakh each on Private Placement basis.
SBI Life Insurance Company has launched its dedicated 24X7 inbound contact centre to address before and after purchase queries related to comprehensive insurance solutions provided by the company.