Indian equity benchmarks ended
choppy session marginally in green in tandem with a similar recovery in other
markets as investors waited for more details to assess the severity of the
Omicron coronavirus variant on the world economy, allowing battered stock
markets and oil prices to recover. The benchmarks staged a gap down opening, as
traders remained cautious with report that as many as 438 infrastructure
projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns
totalling more than Rs 4.34 lakh crore. Traders also took a note of Chief
Economic Adviser (CEA) K V Subramanian's statement that BRICS nations need to
strengthen cooperation among themselves for supporting the recovery of BRICS
economies and maintaining macro-economic and financial stability while
protecting against future uncertainties and risks. Meanwhile, Industry body --
The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has urged the GST Council to
rationalise rates and stated that the current rates are not in sync with the demand
creation and employment generation in the country. However, key indices soon
recovered their losses and traded on positive note as traders got some support
as eminent economist Pinaki Chakraborty said that India's macroeconomic
situation is certainly better than what it was a year ago, while expressing
hope that the country will be back on the path of economic growth if there is
no major third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some support also came with
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's statement that bilateral trade
between India and Canada stands at $10 billion currently and there is
tremendous potential to take it to much higher levels. Goyal also said both
sides have discussed the possibility of concluding the India-Canada
comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), a kind of free trade pact,
in two stages. Sentiments were also upbeat as foreign portfolio investors (FPI)
have pumped in a net sum of Rs 5,319 crore in Indian capital markets despite a
massive correction seen in equities. In October, they were net sellers to the
tune of Rs 12,437 crore. However, the profit taking at higher levels capped the
upside till the end. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 153.43 points or 0.27% to
57,260.58 and the CNX Nifty was up by 27.50 points or 0.16% to 17,053.95.
The US markets ended higher on
Monday after the steep drop seen last Friday dragged the major averages down to
their lowest closing levels in at least a month. Sentiment got boost as
President Joe Biden said there is no need for the US to reimpose lockdowns as a
result of the new variant. The US has imposed travel restrictions on South
Africa and several other African nations, although Biden said he does not
expect addition restrictions. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks moved
sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia
Semiconductor Index up by 4.1 percent. Substantial strength was also visible
among software stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by the Dow Jones US
Software Index. Computer hardware stocks also turned in a strong performance on
the day, resulting in a 1.8 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware
Index. On the economic data front, the National Association of Realtors (NAR)
released a report showing pending home sales rebounded by much more than
expected in the month of October. NAR said its pending home sales index spiked
by 7.5 percent to 125.2 in October after tumbling by 2.4 percent to a revised
116.5 in September. Street had expected pending home sales to increase by 1.0
percent compared to the 2.3 percent slump originally reported for the previous
month. A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet
closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Monday as traders bet that Friday's sharp sell-off, prompted by fears that the
new omicron Covid variant will curb demand for petroleum products, was
overdone. Meanwhile, traders looked ahead to some meetings of the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. However, oil prices plunged on Friday,
weighed down by news about the detection of a new variant - Omicron - in South
Africa last week and subsequent news about several countries, including the US,
imposing fresh travel restrictions. Benchmark crude oil futures for January
delivery rose $1.80 or 2.6 percent to settle at $69.95 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery gained $1.00 or 1.4
percent to settle at $72.59 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee ended considerably
lower against dollar on Monday on emergence of demand for the greenback from
importers amid newly found corona virus variant spurred worries over global
economic health. Sentiments were also dampened with Chief Economic Adviser
(CEA) K V Subramanian's statement that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and
South Africa) nations need to strengthen cooperation among themselves for
supporting the recovery of BRICS economies and maintaining macro-economic and
financial stability while protecting against future uncertainties and risks.
Traders' shrugged off Minister Piyush Goyal's statement that bilateral trade
between India and Canada stands at $10 billion currently and there is
tremendous potential to take it to much higher levels. On the global front,
dollar edged higher, the euro fell and the yen steadied on Monday as currency
markets reversed some of Friday's moves, calming after the initial shock of
discovering a new coronavirus variant. Finally, the rupee ended 75.07, weaker
by 18 paise from its previous close of 74.89 on Friday.
The FIIs as per Monday's data
were net sellers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 8487.06 crore against gross selling of Rs 12189.56 crore,
while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 551.61 crore with gross
sales of Rs 1072.79 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was
of Rs 16.93 crore against gross selling of Rs 26.50 crore.
The US markets ended higher on
Monday regaining some of the ground they lost in Friday's sell-off, as
investors were hopeful that the Omicron coronavirus variant would not lead to
lockdowns after reassurance from US President Joe Biden. Asian markets are
trading mixed on Tuesday after the omicron variant of the coronavirus was found
in more countries and governments imposed travel controls. Indian markets ended
a choppy session on Monday mildly higher, led by IT, oil & gas and select
financial stocks. However, weakness in pharma and consumer shares limited the
upside. Today, domestic markets are likely to begin session on a positive note,
tracking gains across global markets. Investors will be eyeing quarterly GDP
numbers to be released later today. India will release the quarterly GDP
numbers for the July-September quarter. India is expected to report strong
growth as the economy bounces back from the pandemic lows. Some support will
come as India Ratings expects the economy to grow 8.3 per cent in Q2 and close
the year with 9.4 per cent in FY'22, which is 10 bps lower than the consensus
forecast. The agency has attributed the higher growth to the nine consecutive
quarters of over 3 per cent agriculture growth, which has brightened consumer
spending and the resultant uptick in private final consumption expenditure,
which is likely to clip at around 10 per cent in the September quarter of the
current fiscal. Additionally, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary
said the net direct tax collection grew nearly 68 per cent during April 1 to
November 23 to more than Rs 6.92 lakh crore. Besides, the commerce ministry has
recommended continuation of anti-dumping duty on Chinese tiles, used for
covering floors and walls in buildings, for five more years with a view to
guard domestic players from cheap imports. However, some cautiousness may
prevailed in markets as Moody's Analytics said the Omicron variant of COVID-19
adds new uncertainties to the global economic outlook but much will depend on
its speed of transmission, hospitalisation and death rates, and also the
effectiveness of vaccines. There will be some buzz in the insurance industry
stocks as rating agency Icra said the life insurance industry has seen muted
growth of 4 per cent in new business premiums (NBP) so far, it is expected to
close the financial year (FY22) with 14 per cent growth in NBP, backed a
pick-up in business in the second half of the fiscal. NBFCs stocks will be in
focus as Crisil report stated that non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) may
see an uptick in fragile assets covering non-performing loans, slippages due to
revision of norms and from restructured book to 5-6 per cent of assets by March
2022. There will be some reaction in aviation industry stocks as the government
said investments worth Rs 91,000 crore will be made for developing existing and
new airports in different parts of the country, as several measures are being
taken to boost the civil aviation sector. Meanwhile, Shares of Go Fashion will
list today after the IPO received a strong response from investors. The IPO was
oversubscribed by all categories of investors. Star Health is set to launch an
initial public offer (IPO) at 10 am to raise Rs 7,249 crore.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
17,053.95
|
16,837.34
|
17,215.64
|
BSE Sensex
|
57,260.58
|
56,553.51
|
57,797.09
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata
Motors
|
428.19
|
462.00
|
446.49
|
474.14
|
State
Bank of India
|
224.07
|
466.20
|
454.41
|
477.86
|
ITC
|
221.32
|
221.70
|
220.05
|
223.50
|
Hindalco
Industries
|
190.69
|
421.00
|
407.56
|
433.96
|
Oil
& Natural Gas Corporation
|
187.36
|
144.40
|
142.19
|
146.34
|
Coal India's supply of coal to power sector registered 22.7% jump to 291.72 MT in the first seven months of the ongoing fiscal year.
Reliance Industries' telecom arm -- Jio has hiked prepaid tariffs for unlimited plans by around 21% from December.
IOC's Mathura refinery has received environmental clearance for projects to expand its crude processing capacity to 11 mmtpa.
NTPC's arm NTPC Renewable Energy has inked PPA and other project agreements with Indian Railways, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company and Rewa Ultra Mega Solar.