Indian benchmark indices erased
their initial gains to end lower for the fifth straight session on Wednesday
amid unabated selling pressure in select index heavyweights like Bharti Airtel,
Indusind Bank and Reliance Industries. Earlier in the session, the indices made
a gap-up start tracing positive global cues. Traders got some encouragement as
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the government is taking
steps to make India a $5 trillion economy earlier than the International
Monetary Fund's forecast year of 2026-27. Some support also came with Commerce
and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's statement that the country's goods and
services exports are marching ahead to cross $750 billion in the current
financial year (FY23) and talks for expanding rupee trade with certain
countries are at an advanced stage. Sentiments remained positive in afternoon
deals with Anurag Jain, the secretary in the Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), stating that inclusion and equity are
important for India to transform into a developed nation, with technology aiding
this growth. However, gains remain capped amid foreign fund outflows. However,
markets reversed all of their initial gains in late afternoon session and ended
near day's low points amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional
investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 3,086.96 crore on March 14, the National
Stock Exchange's provisional data showed. Traders also turned cautious amid a
private report stating that venture capital (VC) funding for Indian startups
has taken a sharp cut. It dropped to $25.7 billion in 2022 from $35.8 billion
in 2021 as the global economy experienced turbulence. Some anxiety also came
with another private report stating that hiring intentions will remain
marginally lower during the second quarter (April-June) this year as employers
continue to have difficulty in finding people with the right skills. Finally,
the BSE Sensex fell 344.29 points or 0.59% to 57,555.90 and the CNX Nifty was
down by 71.15 points or 0.42% to 16,972.15.
The US markets came off the
session's losses but ended mostly in red on Wednesday on worries of more bank
failures. In addition to ongoing concerns about turmoil in the financial sector
following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, short-term
debt woes of Swiss lender Credit Suisse contributed to the bearish sentiment in
the market. Credit Suisse shares fell nearly 25 percent in the Swiss market
after Saudi National Bank, the bank's largest investor, reportedly said it
would not provide anymore funding to the Swiss lender. JP Morgan Chase fell
nearly 5 percent. Chevron, Boeing, Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, Travelers
Companies and Honeywell International ended lower by 3 to 4.6 percent. On the
economic data front, after reporting a sharp increase in U.S. retail sales in
the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report showing sales
pulled back by slightly more than expected in the month of February. The
Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 0.4 percent in February after
spiking by an upwardly revised 3.2 percent in January. Street had expected
retail sales to decrease by 0.3 percent compared to the 3.0 percent surge originally
reported for the previous month. Besides, producer prices in the U.S.
unexpectedly edged slightly lower in the month of February, according to a
report released by the Labor Department. The Labor Department said its producer
price index for final demand slipped by 0.1 percent in February after rising by
a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in January. Street had expected producer
prices to increase by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.7 percent advance
originally reported for the previous month.
Crude oil futures ended sharply
lower on Wednesday, magnifying their losses from previous session as traders
feared a brewing banking crisis could dent global economic growth. Crude oil prices plunged to their lowest
level since December 2021, amid rising concerns about global economic growth
and worries about the outlook for energy demand. Further, data showing an
increase in U.S. crude inventories hurt oil prices. Data from Energy
Information Administration (EIA) showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.55
million barrels during the week ended March 10. Besides, the IEA said in its report
that oil has been accumulating in storage tanks as supply has been strong and
demand has remained slack. Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery fell
$3.72 or 5.22 percent to $67.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude for May delivery dropped $3.09 or 3.99 percent to $74.36 a barrel
on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee tumbled against
dollar on Wednesday amid a strong greenback against major currencies overseas
and unabated foreign fund outflows. Traders ignored reports that India's trade
deficit came in at $17.43 billion in February 2023, which is narrower as
compared to $18.75 billion in the year-ago period. The numbers are also
marginally lower as compared to the preceding month, as the trade deficit stood
at $17.76 billion in January 2023. On the global front, British pound edged
lower against the dollar on Wednesday, but remained close to a one-month high,
ahead of finance minister Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget. Finally, the rupee ended
at 82.62 (Provisional), weaker by 25 paise from its previous close of 82.37 on
Tuesday.
The FIIs as per Wednesday's data
were net sellers in equity segment, while net buyers in debt segment. In equity
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 7423.79 crore against gross selling of Rs
9632.63 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1206.94
crore against gross selling of Rs 427.98 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment,
the gross buying was of Rs 4.46 crore against gross selling of Rs 7.66 crore.
The US markets ended mostly in
red on Wednesday as problems at Credit Suisse revived fears of a banking
crisis, eclipsing bets on a smaller US rate hike this month. Asian markets are
trading mostly lower on Thursday as fear of a banking crisis was reignited by
fresh troubles at Credit Suisse, leaving markets on edge ahead of a European
Central Bank meeting later in the day. Indian markets surrendered early gains
and ended lower for a fifth consecutive session on Wednesday amid unabated
foreign fund outflows. Today, markets are likely to get cautious start as
investors may react to mixed global cues, trade balance data, plummeting bond
yields and tumbling oil prices. There will be some volatility in the markets
amid weekly F&O expiry later in the day. Global sentiment remains weak amid
signs that the U.S. banking crisis is spreading to Europe. Fear amongst
investors emanating from a fresh turmoil at the Credit Suisse Group as a top
shareholder refused additional financial assistance. Back home, there will be
some cautiousness as the data released by the commerce ministry showed that
India's exports dipped in February for the third consecutive month by 8.8 per
cent to $33.88 billion against $37.15 billion in the same month last year.
Imports also declined by 8.21 per cent to $51.31 billion as against $55.9
billion recorded in the corresponding month last year. The country's trade
deficit in February stood at $17.43 billion. Foreign fund outflows likely to
dent domestic sentiments. The National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed
foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 1,271.25 crore on
March 15. However, some positivity may come in the market with IMF senior
representative to India Luis Breuer stating that the RBI was doing the right
thing on rate hikes, and added that there was need for more. Breuer also said
the Budget's focus on prudence and fiscal consolidation was a good step that
will reduce and stabilise public debt, which is quite high in the country
compared to other G20 countries. Besides, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal
said the government is expected to release the new five-year foreign trade
policy (FTP) by the end of this month, with a view to promoting the country's
outbound shipments of goods and services. Aviation and paint company's stocks
likely to be in limelight after oil prices slumped nearly 5 percent to their
lowest level in more than a year overnight on recession fears. The edible oil
industry stocks will be in focus as the Solvent Extractors' Association of
India (SEA) India's edible oil imports rose 12 per cent year-on-year in
February to 10.98 lakh tonnes on higher imports of crude palm oil. There will
be some reaction in dairy industry stocks with report that total milk
production in the country during 2021-22 is 221.06 million tonnes and
registered an annual growth rate of 5.29 per cent.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and
BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
16,972.15
|
16,870.25
|
17,142.70
|
BSE
Sensex
|
57,555.90
|
57,183.17
|
58,201.13
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Tata
Steel
|
389.31
|
108.70
|
107.69
|
109.44
|
HDFC
Bank
|
186.32
|
1542.95
|
1525.40
|
1571.70
|
Adani
Ports & Special Economic Zone
|
155.15
|
681.95
|
663.51
|
694.11
|
ICICI
Bank
|
129.14
|
823.40
|
815.75
|
837.50
|
Adani
Enterprises
|
122.97
|
1838.00
|
1746.91
|
1910.26
|
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