Indian equity
benchmarks ended the weekly expiry session in the red with a loss of about a
percent amid a selloff in global markets. The Sensex fell as much as 485 point
and Nifty 50 index briefly tumbled below its important psychological level of
15,750. After making cautious start, key
indices witnessed selling pressure throughout the day, as rising coronavirus
cases weighted down on market sentiments. India recorded a spike of 45,196 new
infections, taking the total caseload to 30,708,092, according to Worldometer.
Some concern also came as Fitch Ratings in its latest report said that it has
cut India's growth forecast to 10 per cent for the current financial year
(FY22), from 12.8 per cent estimated earlier, due to slowing recovery
post-second wave of COVID-19. It said the challenges for the banking sector
posed by the coronavirus pandemic have increased due to a virulent second wave
in the first quarter of the financial year ending March 2022 (FY22). Indian
bourses extended their losses in second half of the session, as investors were
concerned with private report stating that the India's retail inflation likely
to accelerate to seven-month high in June on rising food and fuel prices,
staying above the Reserve Bank of India's comfort zone for a second straight
month. While many of India's states have eased restrictions imposed to contain
the coronavirus, supply-side disruptions remain and higher taxes on petroleum
products continue to exert upward pressure on inflation. Sentiments remained
pessimistic after Fitch Ratings in its latest report said localized lockdowns
during the second wave kept economic activity from stalling to levels similar
to those during 2020, but disruption in several key business centers has slowed
the recovery and dented its expectations of a rebound to pre-pandemic levels by
FY22. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for a
services trade agreement among friendly nations of the Indo-Pacific region as
it can help liberalise domestic regulations and build capacity in sectors like
e-commerce and IT. He also said India's trade with select Indo-Pacific
economies increased to $262 billion in 2020 from $33 billion in 2001. However,
he said, non-tariff measures act as major trade barriers in the region.
Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 485.82 points or 0.92% to 52,568.94, while the CNX
Nifty was down by 151.75 points or 0.96% to 15,727.90.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday on concerns about the global economic comeback from Covid-19. The US
economy has recovered strongly from the pandemic-induced slump, but the rapid
spread of variants in other parts of the world has raised concerns about a
global slowdown. The losses also came as Japan declared a state of emergency in
Tokyo for the upcoming Olympics and as countries deal with a rebound in cases
due to Covid variants. Adding to the negative sentiment on Markets, the Labor
Department released a report showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly inched
higher in the week ended July 3rd. The Labor Department said initial jobless
claims crept up to 373,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's
revised level of 371,000. The uptick
surprised participants, who had expected jobless claims to drop to 350,000 from
the 364,000 originally reported for the previous week. Besides, the weakness on
Wall Street also came amid a continued slump in US treasury yields, with the
yield on the benchmark ten-year note once again falling to its lowest levels
since February. On the sectoral front, transportation stocks moved sharply
lower on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Average down by 3.3
percent to its lowest closing level in well over three months. Significant
weakness was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent
slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness among gold stocks came
amid a downturn by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August
delivery slipping $1.90 to $1,800.20 an ounce after reaching a high of
$1,819.50 an ounce. Housing stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day,
resulting in a 2.7 percent drop by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Thursday after data showed a bigger than expected decline in crude inventories
in the US last week. Data released by US Energy Information Administration
(EIA) showed crude inventories in the country fell by 6.866 million barrels last
week, far more than the expected drop of about 4.03 million barrels. The data
also showed distillate stockpiles increased by 1.616 million barrels last week,
much more than expected increase of 171,000 barrels, while gasoline inventories
dropped by over 6 million barrels in the week, nearly three times the expected
decline. A report released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on
Wednesday showed crude inventories in the US fell by 8.0 million barrels last
week. Crude oil futures for August rose $0.74 or about 1 percent to settle at
$72.94 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September Brent crude gained
$0.76 or 1.03 percent to settle at $74.19 a barrel on London's Intercontinental
Exchange.
Continuing previous session's
losses, Indian rupee ended weaker against the US dollar on Thursday, on
increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks. Besides, losses in
the local equity market also dampened sentiments. Traders were worried US Fed
has hinted that it will begin to taper its asset purchases programme as soon as
this year. This seems to have roiled the sentiment in emerging markets as the
dollar traded near its highest in three months versus major peers. Sentiments
were also fragile as Fitch Ratings decreased India's GDP outlook for FY22 to 10
percent from 12.8 percent earlier, citing a sluggish recovery following the
second wave of COVID-19 as a reason. On the global front; sterling eased
against both the dollar and the euro on Thursday, trading within recent ranges
as it pointed to falling volatility levels. Finally, the rupee ended 74.71,
weaker by 9 paise from its previous close of 74.62 on Wednesday.
The FIIs as per Thursday's data
were net buyer in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 6063.53 crore against gross selling of Rs 5402.43 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 540.74 crore with gross sales
of Rs 323.25 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs
7.78 crore against gross selling of Rs 8.62 crore.
The US markets ended in red on
Thursday amid sell-off driven by uncertainties surrounding the pace of the US
economic recovery. Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Friday on growing
anxiety that the spread of Covid-19 variants could hamper the global economic
recovery. Indian markets ended lower with cut of around a percent each on
Thursday dragged by selling across the board. Today, Indian benchmark indices
are likely to open on a weak note mirroring sluggish trend in global markets
coupled with lack of any major domestic trigger. Investors may react to the Q1
performance by IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which was below
Street expectations. There will be some cautiousness with a private report that
Southwest monsoon has practically stalled over most parts of the country since June
19. This has not only delayed its progress over north India but has also badly
impacted the sowing of the kharif crop. However, some respite may come later in
the day as India recorded a sharp decline in new infections. The country
reported 34,443 fresh cases taking the total caseload to 30,708,092, according
to Worldometer. Some optimism may come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the
government has taken important decisions for the welfare of agriculture and
farmers, noted that a Rs 23,000 crore package has also been approved to
strengthen the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Some support may come with
a private report that hiring activity in the country, which was hit by the
second COVID wave, bounced back with a 15 per cent growth in June compared to
May. The activity was led by the IT-Software/Software Services sector. Traders
may take note of report that the finance ministry on Thursday said it has
released the fourth monthly installment of post devolution revenue deficit
grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states. With the release of this installment, a
total amount of Rs 39,484 crore has been released to eligible states in current
financial year. There will be some buzz in the auto stocks as India's overall
vehicle retail sales rose in both sequential and on year-on-year basis in June
2021. Accordingly, the data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers
Associations (FADA) showed a rise of 22.26 per cent during the month under
review from the level of June 2020. Banking stocks will be in focus as the
Reserve Bank asked banks and financial institutions to use any widely accepted
alternative reference rate (AAR) instead of LIBOR (London Interbank Offered
Rates) as the reference rate for entering into new financial contracts. There
will be some reaction in power industry stocks with report that power demand in
the country touched an all-time high and crossed the 200 GW mark amid many
states witnessing high temperatures due to delayed monsoon, and easing of
coronavirus-related restrictions.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
15,727.90
|
15,645.29
|
15,848.14
|
BSE
Sensex
|
52,568.94
|
52,297.51
|
52,971.70
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata Motors
|
873.60
|
306.35
|
302.64
|
312.44
|
State Bank of India
|
214.33
|
424.45
|
419.24
|
432.54
|
ITC
|
209.25
|
202.00
|
201.04
|
203.74
|
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
|
171.51
|
117.05
|
116.14
|
118.69
|
Tata Steel
|
124.10
|
1189.75
|
1,170.64
|
1,219.44
|
HDFC has divested 32,53,517 shares representing 2.46 percent of the paid-up share capital of Hindustan Oil Exploration Company.
Titan Company has reported an over two-fold jump in sales in Q1FY22, helped by the low base of last year due to the nationwide lockdown at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tata Motors' Group global wholesales in Q1 FY22, including Jaguar Land Rover, were at 2,14,250 nos., higher by 134%, as compared to Q1 FY21.
Mahindra & Mahindra has launched Supro Profit truck range in the country, with price starting at Rs 5.4 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).