Indian equity
benchmarks closed with losses on the monthly futures & options expiry
session, marking the third straight day of losses, weighed by Banking, Metal
and Telecom stocks. Indian markets opened on a flat note, as India recorded a
spike of 23,139 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The country also
witnessed 309 deaths, taking the death toll to 448,090. Some concern also came
as finance ministry stating that India's external debt rose modestly by 2.1 per
cent year-on-year to $570 billion as of March-end 2021, notwithstanding the
COVID-19 pandemic. It said reserves to external debt ratio, however, increased
to 101.2 per cent from 85.6 per cent during the same period, thereby consolidating
the country's position as a net creditor to the world. However, key indices
erased losses and managed to trade in green terrain in late morning session,
taking support from Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K V Subramanian's statement
that India will clock over 7 per cent annual growth during this decade on the
back of strong economic fundamentals. During the current fiscal, he said,
growth would be in double-digits and it could moderate to 6.5 - 7 per cent in
the next financial year. However, buying proved short-lived as markets once
again slipped into red terrain in late afternoon session. A continuously
depreciating rupee, which tumbled for the fifth straight day against the US
dollar, weighed on sentiment. Traders overlooked Apparel Export Promotion Council
(AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel's statement that the government's decision to
expand the scope of the Rs 4.5 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee
Scheme (ECLGS) to support micro, small and medium enterprises would help deal
with funds shortage and promote exports. Investors also paid no heed towards
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's statement that India and the US
should engage in a much bigger way and New Delhi is ready and willing to expand
the economic partnership with America. Meanwhile, in order to increase
utilisation of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) and provide
support to small businesses ahead of the festive season and economic upturn,
the government has expanded the scheme by increasing the borrowing limit for
availing loans. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 286.91 points or 0.48% to
59,126.36 and the CNX Nifty was down by 93.15 points or 0.53% to 17,618.15.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday. The notable weakness that has emerged on markets comes on the final
day of what has already been a disappointing month for stocks. Traders were
keeping an eye on Washington after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,
D-N.Y., announced an agreement on a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government
shutdown. The proposed legislation, which would fund the government through
December 3rd, also includes spending on hurricane relief and Afghan refugee
resettlement. Schumer said the Senate would vote on the legislation later
today, although the bill would still need to pass the House before a midnight
deadline. On the economic data front, economic growth in the US accelerated by
slightly more than previously estimated in the second quarter, the Commerce
Department revealed in revised data released. The Commerce Department said real
gross domestic product shot up by 6.7 percent in the second quarter compared to
the previously reported 6.6 percent spike. Street had expected the jump in GDP
to be unrevised. The upwardly revised GDP growth in the second quarter reflects
a modest acceleration from the 6.3 percent surge seen in the first quarter.
Besides, first-time claims for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased
for the third straight week in the week ended September 25th, according to a
report released by the Labor Department. The report said initial jobless claims
edged up to 362,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised
level of 351,000. The uptick surprised participants, who had expected jobless
claims to dip to 335,000.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Thursday as traders bet on higher crude demand after a report said China told
state-owned energy companies to build their reserves to meet power needs for
the winter. China told top state-owned energy companies to secure winter
supplies at all costs, with the order coming directly from Vice Premier Han
Zheng during a meeting earlier this week with officials from Beijing's
state-owned assets regulator and economic planning agency. Besides, oil prices
also found support on reports that Citigroup expects oil balances to be in a
1.5 million-barrel-per-day deficit on average over the next six months, even
with continued supply increases.Benchmark Crude oil futures for November
delivery rose $0.20 or 0.3 percent to settle at $75.03 barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. However, Brent crude for November delivery lost $0.12 or
0.20 percent to settle at $78.52 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Tumbling for fifth straight
session, Rupee ended substantially weaker against dollar on Thursday. Traders
were worried as India's external debt rose modestly by 2.1 per cent
year-on-year to USD 570 billion as of March-end 2021, notwithstanding the
COVID-19 pandemic. External debt to GDP ratio rose marginally to 21.1 per cent
from 20.6 per cent as at end-March 2020. However, downfall remain capped with
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's statement that India and the US
should engage in a much bigger way and New Delhi is ready and willing to expand
the economic partnership with America. Meanwhile, government has again extended
the existing foreign trade policy (FTP) for another six months till March 31
next year. On the global front; sterling steadied near a nine-month low on
Thursday amid concerns about British economic growth with inflation expected to
jump as the country grapples with a fuel crisis. Finally, the rupee ended
74.23, weaker by 9 paise from its previous close of 74.14 on Wednesday.
The FIIs as per Thursday's data
were net buyers in equity segment, while net sellers in debt segment. In equity
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 12516.19 crore against gross selling of Rs
11172.80 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 871.77
crore with gross sales of Rs 1131.09 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the
gross buying was of Rs 96.56 crore against gross selling of Rs 37.67 crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday as Wall Street wrapped up its worst month of the year on a sour note.
Asian markets are trading lower in early deals on Friday following weak cues
from the US markets. Indian equity benchmarks ended in red on Thursday led by
Bankex and Metal stocks. Today, the markets are likely to make gap-down start
on weak global cues. Traders will be concerned as India's external debt stood
at USD 571.3 billion at end-June, recording an increase of USD 1.6 billion over
its level at the end of March 2021. Traders may take note of report that former
RBI Governor D Subbarao stressed on the need to accelerate India's economic
growth rate and make sure that this benefit of growth is shared, even as he
said that unemployment has taken a form of crisis in the country. Subbarao
further said the organised sector is shedding jobs and the labour force is
moving from high productive sector to the unorganised sector. However, some
respite may come later in the day as eight core industries, including coal,
crude oil, and steel, posted a growth of 11.6 per cent in August on a yearly
basis, as per government data released. The eight core industries -- coal,
crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and
electricity -- comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the
Index of Industrial Production (IIP). Some support may also come as India's
current account balance moved into a surplus in the April-June quarter mainly
because of a contraction in the trade deficit. The current account surplus
stood at $6.5 billion compared to a surplus of $19.1 billion in the same
quarter a year ago. In the preceding January-March quarter the current account
was in a deficit of $8.1 billion. Meanwhile, the Centre's fiscal deficit as a
proportion of the Budget Estimates fell to an 18-year low of 31.1 per cent in
the first five months of the current financial year. This was despite a
year-on-year spike in expenditure in August, after falling in the previous
month. Besides, there will be some encouragement with report that retail
inflation for industrial workers eased to 4.79 per cent in August compared to
5.27 per cent in July this year, mainly due to the lower price of certain food
items. There will some buzz in hotel industry stocks as Icra's report stated
that the hotel industry is expected to clock at least 45-50 per cent of
pre-Covid revenues in this financial year as demand has recovered sharply post
the second wave of the pandemic aided by easing of restrictions during the
July-September period.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
17,618.15
|
17,554.95
|
17,711.75
|
BSE
Sensex
|
59,126.36
|
58,911.34
|
59,449.30
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Coal India
|
489.57
|
185.10
|
182.30
|
189.70
|
NTPC
|
346.14
|
141.85
|
139.56
|
143.66
|
Tata Motors
|
302.68
|
333.35
|
329.00
|
337.80
|
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
|
267.14
|
144.50
|
141.89
|
146.59
|
State Bank of India
|
265.30
|
453.00
|
447.96
|
461.46
|
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