Indian equity benchmarks witnessed bloodbath on Monday and settled
below their crucial 48,000 (Sensex) and 14,400 (Nifty) levels amid continue
rising COVID-19 cases in the country and stricter restrictions imposed in
various states. Markets made a gap-down opening as traders remain concerned on
report that India reported 275,306 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases, the
highest single-day spike so far since the pandemic broke out, Worldometer showed.
With this, India's Covid tally has shot up to 15,057,767 cases. Adding more
pessimism, a private report stated that leading brokerages have downgraded
India's GDP growth projections for the current fiscal year to as low as 10 per
cent on local lockdowns threatening fragile recovery, with the resurgence of
COVID-19 cases posing risks to economic recovery. Also, foreign portfolio
investors (FPIs) have pulled out a net Rs 4,615 crore from Indian markets in
April so far amid sharp escalation in COVID-19 cases and the consequent
restrictions imposed by various states, unnerving overseas investors. Markets
traded in deep red throughout the day as sentiments remain dampened after the
Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) said that businesses have been
severely impacted, with the revenue falling by almost 50 per cent due to
localised lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Many
state governments have imposed restrictions and localised lockdowns to stop the
spread of the virus. However, markets managed to trim some of their losses in
the later part of trade after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she has
taken inputs from various industry chambers on concerns of India Inc with
regard to the management of COVID pandemic and the centre would continue to
work with state governments to save lives and livelihood. She sought feedback
from businesses to deal with the impact of the second COVID-19 wave on the
country's economy. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 882.61 points or 1.81% to 47949.42,
while the CNX Nifty was down by 258.40 points or 1.77% to 14359.45.
The US markets ended lower
on Monday as investors largely stayed cautious amid a lack of triggers, and
looked ahead to more earnings news and economic data. Further, geopolitical
concerns and worries about spikes in coronavirus cases in several countries
raised uncertainty about the pace of global economic recovery, contributing to
the lackluster movements in the market. The market's retreat was due largely to
some heavy selling in the technology space. US stocks had moved on to historic
highs last week, riding on buoyant economic data and some upbeat earnings
announcements. Coca-Cola revealed earnings for first quarter that declined from
the same period last year. The company's profit came in at $2.25 billion, or
$0.52 per share. This compares with $2.78 billion, or $0.64 per share, in last
year's first quarter. Meanwhile, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony
Fauci said he expects the US will resume administration of the Johnson &
Johnson vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration asked states last week to
temporarily halt using the single dose vaccine out of an abundance of caution
after six women developed a rare blood-clotting disorder.
Crude oil futures end higher on Monday
as prices moved higher amid expectations of a drop in global crude supply.
According to private report, Libya has halted output at some of its oil fields.
Report said National Oil Corp has declared force majeure on exports from the
port of Hariga. Meanwhile, a weak dollar also contributed to oil's uptick. The
dollar index dropped to 91.03, losing about 0.6%. However, concerns about
outlook for energy demand amid rising coronavirus cases in several countries. A
report from Johns Hopkins University said the overall global Covid-19 caseload
has topped 141.1 million. The US is the worst-hit country with the world's
highest number of cases, and India follows in the second place. Hong Kong said
that it will suspend flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from
Tuesday due to imported coronavirus infections. Crude oil futures for May rose
$0.25 or 0.4 percent to settle at $63.38 barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. June Brent crude gained $0.28 or 0.42 percent to settle at $67.05 a
barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee
ended lower against dollar on Monday amid fears that a rapid resurgence of
COVID-19 cases in the country could disrupt economic recovery. Sentiments were
fragile as Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out a net Rs 4,615
crore from Indian markets in April so far amid sharp escalation in COVID-19
cases and the consequent restrictions imposed by various states, unnerving
overseas investors. Also, weakness in equity markets put pressure on the
domestic currency. On the global front, pound rose and hit a two-week high
against the dollar on Monday ahead of a data-heavy week that is expected to
provide more evidence that Britain's economy is rebounding from its deepest
recession in 300 years. Finally, the rupee ended 74.87, weaker by 52 paise from
its previous close of 74.35 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of
75.05 and 74.79 respectively.
The FIIs as per
Monday's data were net seller in equity segment, while net buyer in debt
segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 9339.25 crore against
gross selling of Rs 10083.94 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross
purchase was of Rs 2343.07 crore with gross sales of Rs 243.51 crore. Besides,
in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 3.94 crore against gross
selling of Rs 12.19 crore.
The US markets ended lower on Monday
as weakness in the technology sector weighed on the markets. Asian markets were
trading mostly higher in early deals on Tuesday, led by a stronger Chinese
opening and shaking off the initial drag from tech-driven Wall Street losses.
Domestic benchmark indices plummeted on Monday as rising coronavirus cases and
resultant lockdown continued to spook investors. Today, the start of session is
likely to be positive. Traders will be getting support with report that the
government announced a liberalised and accelerated Covid-19 vaccination
programme beginning May 1, where all above 18 years of age will be eligible to
be vaccinated. Also, vaccine manufacturers have been empowered to release up to
50% of supplies directly to state governments and in the open market at
pre-declared prices, a move that would boost availability of the prophylactics
to the people. Meanwhile, India reported a slight decline of 256,947 in the
number of fresh coronavirus (Covid-19) cases on Tuesday, Worldometer showed.
With this, India's Covid tally has shot up to 15,314,714 cases. India, however,
reported the highest-ever single-day spike in Covid-related deaths with 1,757
fatalities. The death toll from the deadly infection stands at 180,550. The
country now has over 2 million active cases. Traders may take note of report
that the Reserve Bank of India has formed a six-member panel headed by
Sudarshan Sen, former Executive Director, to carry out comprehensive review of
the working of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) in the financial sector
ecosystem. The panel will recommend suitable measures for enabling such
entities to meet the growing requirements of the financial sector. The
Committee will submit its report within three months from the date of its first
meeting. However, traders will be concerned with a private report stating that
the pandemic has impacted the working capital management for companies and
stretched top-500 listed companies' cash cycles by six days. There may also be
some cautiousness as the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in its
latest data has said unemployment rate in urban India has been on the upswing
since the beginning of the current month. From 7.21% on April 4, it jumped to
9.81% for the week ended April 11 and further to 10.72% for the week ended
April 18. This reflects a shift in the burden of job losses to urban India,
reversing the trend of rural India largely bearing the brunt of Covid-induced
strain on employment.
Support
and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
14,359.45
|
14,239.80
|
14,430.70
|
BSE Sensex
|
47,949.42
|
47,534.49
|
48,192.57
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata Motors
|
657.91
|
301.70
|
294.84
|
306.54
|
State Bank of India
|
533.04
|
330.45
|
323.81
|
334.56
|
Wipro
|
438.09
|
471.50
|
462.41
|
479.26
|
ICICI Bank
|
285.26
|
560.40
|
542.44
|
570.34
|
Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone
|
229.35
|
719.00
|
707.34
|
730.79
|
HDFC Bank has reported a rise of 18.17% in its net profit at Rs 8,186.51 crore for Q4FY21 as compared to Rs 6,927.69 crore for Q4FY20.
Tata Steel is supplying up to 300 tonnes of medical oxygen on a daily basis to various state governments and hospitals for treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Fintech innovation cluster Copenhagen Fintech has entered into a collaboration with Infosys to strengthen connections across the innovation ecosystem.
HCL Technologies has signed a multi-million dollar digital transformation and hybrid cloud contract with UD Trucks.