Indian equity benchmarks traded
in a narrow range with a negative bias for most part of the trading session and
ended on a flat note on Wednesday as investors kept their exposure low due to
weak global cues. After opening on a positive note, the markets turned choppy
through the session, after the latest Union Health Ministry data showed that
India Wednesday recorded 16,047 new coronavirus cases and 54 fatalities
including six reconciled by Kerala. With these additions, the country's overall
Covid figures rose to 4,41,90,697 cases and 5,26,826 deaths. Traders remained
cautious with data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi)
showing that equity mutual funds attracted Rs 8,898 crore in July, a 43 per
cent decline compared to the preceding month as markets continued to remain
volatile amid concerns over inflation and rate hike expectations. Some concern
came with a private report stated that growth in job postings remained flat at
1 per cent in July amidst fears of global recession and inflation, several
sectors saw improvement due to digitisation and changing consumer sentiments.
Though, downside remained capped as traders found some support with a private
report stated that the Indian economy is likely to grow by 7.1% in the current
fiscal on the back of steady performance by services, manufacturing and the
farm sector. It added that the government investment will play a crucial role
in boosting the growth rate. Some support also came in as finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated measures
to promote the rupee as a preferred currency for international trade
settlement, which will boost exports. Besides, Commerce and industry minister
Piyush Goyal said negotiations between India and the UK for a FTA is moving at
a fast pace, allaying concerns that the evolving political situation in Britain
may slow down the pace of talks. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 35.78 points or
0.06% to 58,817.29 and the CNX Nifty was up by 9.65 points or 0.06% to
17,534.75.
The US markets ended higher on
Wednesday after a key inflation reading showed a better-than-expected slowdown
for rising prices. The Labor Department released a report showing US consumer
prices unexpectedly came in flat in the month of July. The Labor Department
said its consumer price index was unchanged in July after jumping by 1.3
percent in June. Street had expected consumer prices to edge up by 0.2 percent.
Compared to the same month a year ago, consumer prices in July were up by 8.5
percent, reflecting a bigger than expected slowdown from the 9.1 percent spike
in June. The annual rate of price growth was expected to slow to 8.7 percent
from the four-decade high seen in the previous month. Meanwhile, the report
said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.3
percent in July after climbing by 0.7 percent in June. Core prices were
expected to increase by 0.5 percent. The annual rate of core consumer price
growth was unchanged at 5.9 percent, while economists had expected an
acceleration to 6.1 percent. The tamer than expected inflation data has led to
speculation that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of interest rate hikes
at its September meeting. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks showed a
substantial rebound after pulling back sharply in recent sessions, resulting in
a 4.3 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Considerable
strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 4
percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. The index ended the
session at its best closing level in two months. Networking stocks also turned
in a strong performance on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up
by 3.6 percent to a three-month closing high.
Crude oil futures ended sharply
higher on Wednesday after data showing a bigger-than-expected drop in gasoline
inventories in the US in the week ended August 5th. Gasoline stockpiles dropped
by 4.978 million barrels last week, substantially larger than the expected drop
of 633,000 barrels. Further, a weak
dollar and data showing increased demand for gasoline contributed as well to
the surge in oil prices. The dollar index dropped to a low of 104.64 and
despite recovering to 105.02, remains deep down in negative territory with a
loss of about 1.25%. However, data from
Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude oil inventories jumped by
5.458 million barrels last week, as against expectations for a rise of 73,000
barrels. Benchmark crude oil futures for September delivery rose $1.43 or 1.6
percent to settle at $91.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent
crude for October delivery surged $1.09 or 1.1 percent to settle at $97.40 a
barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee ended significantly
higher against greenback on Wednesday owing to dollar sale by exporters and
banks. Traders took support with Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal's
statement that negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between
India and the UK are progressing at a faster pace. He said the agreement is
aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investments between the two countries.
Additional support came, after the provisional exchange data showed that
foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the Indian capital
market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,449.70 crore on Monday. On the
global front, dollar edged lower ahead of U.S. inflation data that could give
clues to the Federal Reserve's appetite for more aggressive rate rises. Finally,
the rupee ended at 79.50 (provisional), stronger by 13 paisa from its previous
close of 79.63 on Monday.
The FIIs as per Wednesday's data
were net buyers in equity, while net sellers in debt segment. In equity segment,
the gross buying was of Rs 15872.17 crore against gross selling of Rs 14298.66
crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 219.28 crore
against gross selling of Rs 328.77 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the
gross buying was of Rs 1.11 crore against gross selling of Rs 113.18 crore.
The US markets ended higher on
Wednesday after US inflation slowed more than expected in July and raised hopes
the Fed will become less aggressive on interest rates hikes. Asian markets are
trading mostly in green on Thursday following a strong session on Wall Street
overnight. Indian markets finished a choppy session nearly unchanged on
Wednesday as Dalal Street resumed trading after a day's holiday. Today, the
markets are likely to make gap-up opening following firm global cues. Traders
will be taking encouragement with a private report that India is likely to be
the fastest-growing Asian economy in 2022-23. The report expect India's gross
domestic product growth to average 7 per cent during this period - the
strongest among the largest economies - and contributing 28 per cent and 22 per
cent to Asian and global growth, respectively. Some support will come as the data
released by the Reserve Bank of India showed that Bank credit grew 14.5 per
cent year-on-year as on July 29, outstripping 14 per cent year-on-year growth
as on July 15. As on July 29, banks' outstanding loans were at Rs 123.69
trillion, 0.7 per cent higher than a fortnight ago. Besides, foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) have net bought shares worth Rs 1,061.88 crore,
whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 768.45
crore on August 10, as per provisional data available on the NSE. However,
there may be some volatility in the markets due to weekly F&O expiry. There
may be some cautiousness with another private report that Investments by
private equity and venture capital funds into Indian entities fell by 69 per
cent to $3 billion during July. The investments in July are the lowest for any
month in a year, and lower than the $4.9 billion recorded across 118 deals in
the preceding month of June. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank on Wednesday tightened
norms for digital lending to prevent charging of exorbitant interest rates by
certain entities and also check unethical loan recovery practices. Aviation
industry stocks will be in focus as the Union Aviation Ministry said limits
imposed on domestic airfares will be removed from August 31, after a span of
approximately 27 months.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
17,534.75
|
17,463.00
|
17,586.30
|
BSE
Sensex
|
58,817.29
|
58,605.66
|
59,006.62
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata Steel
|
738.80
|
109.20
|
107.16
|
110.56
|
Hindalco Industries
|
237.66
|
440.10
|
423.00
|
450.80
|
ICICI Bank
|
236.58
|
849.15
|
843.20
|
854.05
|
State Bank of India
|
169.04
|
513.90
|
510.36
|
520.46
|
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
|
158.29
|
133.90
|
132.65
|
135.95
|
Hindalco Industries has reported a rise of 47.79% in its consolidated net profit at Rs 4,119 crore for Q1FY23 as compared to Rs 2,787 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.
Tata Motors has launched the Tigor XM iCNG variant at an attractive price point of Rs 7,39,900 (ex-showroom price, Delhi).
L&T's construction arm -- L&T construction has secured an order from Nuclear Power Corporation of India for its Heavy Civil Infrastructure Business.
M&M has launched the New Jeeto Plus CNG CharSau, an addition to its existing Jeeto Plus range that promises to set new standards in fuel efficiency and mileage.