Bulls
tightened their grip on Dalal Street on Wednesday with frontline gauges ended
near intraday high levels, reclaiming their crucial 49,700 (Sensex) and 14,850
(Nifty) levels. Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-up opening and gained
strength to strength throughout the day as traders opted to buy risky assets.
Sentiments remained optimistic with report that as the registration for the
next phase of Covid-19 vaccinations for all above 18 years of age opens, the
health ministry shared data to counter claims that vaccines in several states,
including Maharashtra, were out of stock. The data showed that 150 million
doses had been given to the states so far, of which 10 million were still
available with them. Traders took note of the commerce ministry's statement
that the country's exports of organic food products rose by 51 percent
year-on-year to $1 billion (Rs 7,078 crore) in 2020-21. Markets extended rally
after head of an India-centric American business advocacy group has said that
America's corporate sector has stepped up its efforts to help India in its
battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that lives are saved.
Sentiments remain energized with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan's statement
that India is better prepared mentally and physically this year with more
experience to beat the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to 2020. Some support also
came after the Cabinet has approved the signing and ratification of an
Agreement between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Customs Cooperation and
Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters. Meanwhile, the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) in its flagship Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021 has
stated that India's economy is likely to grow at 11 per cent in the current
fiscal year (FY) 2021-2022, which ends on March 31, 2022. However, it cautioned
that the surge in COVID-19 cases may put the country's economic recovery at
risk. It added that for FY 2022-2023, India's GDP is expected to expand at 7
per cent. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged 789.70 points or 1.61% to 49,733.84,
while the CNX Nifty was up by 211.40 points or 1.44% to 14,864.55.
The US markets
ended lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced its widely
expected decision to maintain its ultra-easy policy. The Fed left interest
rates and asset purchases unchanged even as the central bank upgraded its
assessment of the US economy. The Fed once again kept the target range for the
federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent. The Fed also reiterated that it expects
rates to remain at near-zero levels until labor market conditions have reached
levels consistent with its assessments of maximum employment and inflation is
on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time. Citing progress on
vaccinations and strong policy support, the Fed noted indicators of economic
activity and employment have strengthened, which reflects a modest upgrade from
last month, when the central bank said the indicators have turned up recently. The
Fed also said the sectors most adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic
remain weak but have shown improvement. After previously saying inflation
continues to run below 2 percent, the Fed now acknowledges that inflation has
risen but largely attributed the increase to transitory factors. It also said
risks to the economic outlook remain due to the ongoing public health crisis,
although that reflects an improvement from last month, when the Fed cited considerable
risks to the economic outlook. Besides, traders were also reacting to the
latest earnings reports from several big-name companies, including some megacap
technology stocks. Shares of Alphabet moved sharply higher after the Google
parent reported better than expected first quarter results and announced a $50
billion stock buyback.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Wednesday after US distillate inventories posted a large drawdown and refining
activity picked up, boosting hopes for rising fuel demand. Data showing a much
smaller than expected increase in US crude inventories last week also
contributed to oil's advance. Data released by the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories in the US rose by 90,000 barrels
last week ending April 23, much less than an expected increase of 659,000
barrels. Distillate stockpiles fell by 3.3 million barrels in the week, and
refining capacity use rose to 85.4% on the week. Meanwhile, the American
Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an extensive build in crude oil
inventories of 4.32 million barrels for the week ending April 23. Crude oil
futures for June rose $0.92 or 1.5 percent to settle at $63.86 barrel on the
New York Mercantile Exchange. June Brent crude gained $0.85 or 1.3 percent to
settle at $67.27 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee ended significantly
stronger for third straight session against dollar on Wednesday on selling by
exporters and rally in Indian equities. Sentiments were upbeat as Asian
Development Bank (ADB) in its flagship Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021 has
stated that Indian economy is projected to grow at 11 per cent in the current
financial year amid the strong vaccine drive. Traders took note of the commerce
ministry's statement that the country's exports of organic food products rose
by 51 percent year-on-year to $1 billion (Rs 7,078 crore) in 2020-21. On the
global front, dollar edged higher on Wednesday as investors moved to the
sidelines ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy statement and a speech by Joe
Biden later in the day where the US president is set to announce more stimulus
plans. Finally, the rupee ended 74.36, stronger by 30 paise from its previous
close of 74.66 on Tuesday.
The FIIs as per Wednesday's data
were net seller in equity segment, while net buyer in debt segment. In equity
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5777.08 crore against gross selling of Rs
6886.07 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 416.44
crore with gross sales of Rs 337.46 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the
gross buying was of Rs 8.05 crore against gross selling of Rs 17.44 crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve held interest rates and its monthly bond-buying
program steady and gave no sign it was ready to reduce its support for the
recovery. Asian markets are trading higher on Thursday as US Federal Reserve
decided to keep short-term interest rates near zero. Indian markets ended over
1.5 percent higher Wednesday led by banks, auto and financial stocks. Today,
the start of April F&O expiry session is likely to be positive tracking
gains in Asian peers. Strong earnings reports from top Indian companies may
supported the sentiment on the Street amid continues pressure due to
coronavirus pandemic. Traders may take note of report that The Finance Ministry
has waived permissions required from any government departments for customs
clearance of COVID-related relief material imported by the Indian Red Cross Society.
Besides, the Union Cabinet has approved the signing of a deal between India and
the United Kingdom on information sharing and preventing Customs offences. The
agreement is also expected to facilitate trade and ensure clearance of goods
traded between the countries. There will be some volatility in the markets on
account of the April F&O expiry. However, massive surge in coronavirus
cases may dampen sentiments in the markets. India reported a massive surge of
379,459 cases and 3,647 deaths, thus marking the biggest single-day spike ever,
Worldometer showed. There may be some cautiousness with ICRA's report that the
ongoing second wave of COVID-19 will dampen the pace of recovery for corporate
India and the contact-intensive sectors will be hit the most. However, the
impact of the second wave on many sectors is set to be lower than the first
because the lockdowns are less widespread and stringent as of now as against
the strong nationwide lockdown last year which brought all economic activities
to a grinding halt. Meanwhile, India has imposed anti-dumping duty on imports
of a chemical used in foam making from four regions, including the EU and Saudi
Arabia, for five years to guard domestic players from cheap shipments. Auto
industry stocks will be in focus as the NITI Aayog recommended the government
provide subsidy for electric vehicle purchase over and above the existing
subsidy scheme for electric vehicle adoption under the Faster Adoption and
Manufacturing the Electric Vehicles scheme besides including EVs under priority
lending sector. Besides, PowerGrid Infrastructure Investment Trust's initial
public offer will open for subscription today. The company has fixed a price
band of Rs 99-100 per unit for its Rs 7,735 crore IPO. It raised a little over
Rs 3,480 crore from anchor investors ahead of the IPO offer. There will be some
important earnings announcements too to keep the markets buzzing.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
14,864.55
|
14,742.91
|
14,938.21
|
BSE
Sensex
|
49,733.84
|
49,266.50
|
50,001.34
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
State
Bank of India
|
566.96
|
363.40
|
358.20
|
366.45
|
Axis
Bank
|
540.60
|
708.15
|
693.36
|
717.71
|
Tata
Motors
|
446.68
|
305.90
|
302.76
|
309.26
|
ICICI
Bank
|
332.92
|
621.35
|
605.30
|
630.10
|
Tata
Steel
|
204.47
|
971.40
|
960.26
|
984.26
|
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