Indian equity benchmarks ended
the choppy day of trade with slender gains on Thursday, as initial optimism
fizzled out in second half and market pared most of their gains. Markets
started the session on positive note with traders taking encouragement with
private report stating that India’s GDP growth is expected to be around 7.1%
this fiscal following a likely pick up in industrial production as firms resort
to restocking post GST especially ahead of festive season. Some support also
came with report that industry body ASSOCHAM has sought from the government
slew of tax relief for companies against whom insolvency proceedings have been
initiated. It added that the resolution plans approved after factoring in these
reliefs/concessions will result in quick revival of assets, freeing up
liquidity for banks for further lending, increased economic activity, job
creation, increased contribution to the exchequer and will have multiplier
effect on the associated economy. However, markets took U-turn in noon deals
and pared most of their initial gains after the sharp rise seen in CPI based
inflation, the latest data released by the government has shown that the WPI
inflation rate too registered significant increase in August month. Surge in
prices of foods articles, vegetable and
fuel products mainly pulled the country’s WPI higher to 3.24% in August
against 1.09% increase in the same month a year ago and 1.88% recorded in the
previous month. Sentiments also remained dampened on report that India has been
placed at a low 103 rank, the lowest among BRICS economies, on the WEF’s Global
Human Capital Index, which has been topped by Norway. India also ranks among
the lowest in the world when it comes to the employment gender gap. Finally,
the BSE Sensex rose 55.52 points or 0.17% to 32,241.93, while the CNX Nifty was
up by 7.30 points or 0.07% to 10,086.60.
The US markets closed mostly
lower on Thursday, while the Dow closed at a record for a third session in a
row, the broader markets sagged on the back of weak retail shares. North Korea
made more threats in response to the latest United Nation sanctions, vowing to
sink Japan with a nuclear weapon and reduce the US mainland to ashes and
darkness. The acerbic rhetoric comes after the UN Security Council on Monday
unanimously adopted tougher sanctions against North Korea targeting its exports
and oil imports. On the economy front, the number of Americans who sought
unemployment benefits in early September declined, but the effects of Hurricane
Irma could keep new jobless claims at elevated levels over the next few weeks.
Initial jobless claims in the period running from September 3 to September 10
slipped to 284,000 from 298,000. Claims had surged at the end of August to a
two-and-a-half year high after Hurricane Harvey puts lots of people in the
thriving Houston metropolis temporarily out of work. The Nasdaq dropped 31.11
points or 0.48 percent to 6,429.08, the S&P 500 lost 2.75 points or 0.11
percent to 2,495.62, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 45.3 points
or 0.20 percent to 22,203.48.
Crude oil futures rallied on
Thursday, with Nymex crude surging above $50 a barrel for the first time in a
month. The prices were buoyed by a pair of reports earlier in the week
suggesting that rising global oil demand could stem the glut in crude supplies.
Also, investors continue to cheer an International Energy Agency (IEA) report
released Wednesday estimating global oil demand this year will climb by the
most since 2015. Benchmark crude oil futures for October delivery rose $0.59 or
1.2 percent to settle at $49.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude for October delivery rose 0.20 percent to $55.27 a barrel on the
ICE.
Indian
rupee ended weaker against the American currency on Thursday, due to fresh
dollar demand from banks and importers amid foreign fund outflows. Investors
remained concerned with data released by the commerce and industry ministry
highlighting that higher inflation in food and fuel products drove India’s
Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) to 3.24% in August from 1.88% in July. Food
articles inflation was up 5.75% with that in vegetables at 44.91% and onions at
88.46%. Moreover, fall in the domestic currency was also due to dollar
strengthened against some other currencies overseas. On the global front,
dollar held steady near a four-week high against yen, with traders looking to
US consumer inflation data later in the day for clues on the possible timing of
the Federal Reserve’s next rate rise. Finally, the rupee ended at 64.12, 13
paise weaker from its previous close of 63.99 on Wednesday.
The
FIIs as per Thursday’s data were net buyers in equity segment, while they were
net sellers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs
7085.53 crore against gross selling of Rs 4499.24 crore, while in the debt
segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1139.23 crore with gross sales of Rs
1415.25 crore.
The US markets made a mixed
closing in the last session and while the Dow climbed to a new record closing
high, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended in negative territory, following the
release of a Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in
consumer prices in the month of August. The Asian markets have made a mixed
start and some of the indices are in red, though the Japanese market was
trading marginally in green showing a muted broader market reaction to the latest
North Korean provocation, as it fired missile over Japan after UN sanctions.
The Indian markets after a choppy day of trade and losing their initial
momentum, managed a modestly positive close in last session and overlooked the
report that country's wholesale price inflation (WPI) rose to a four-month high
of 3.24 percent in August. Today, the start is likely to be a bit cautious on
North Korea’s new provocative move of firing another ballistic missile over
Japan. There will be some concern with
SBI research report stating that country’s GDP is likely to remain below 6
percent in the second quarter of 2017-18 owing to muted agriculture growth and
sluggish performance of manufacturing and mining sector. Meanwhile, a United
Nations report has said that effects of demonetisation and rollout of the Goods
& Services Tax regime on the informal sector and reduction in pace of
credit creation may affect India’s growth prospects and the country unlikely to
serve as the “growth pole’’ for the global economy in the near future. There
will be some buzz in the textile sector, as the Textile Commissioner has said
that country’s technical textile market has huge growth potential and it is
expected to grow at 12 per cent per annum to reach $23 billion (Rs 1,50,000
crore) in 2020. There will be some buzz from the primary market too, as the ICICI
Lombard General Insurance IPO will kick off today.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10086.60
|
10062.47
|
10118.62
|
BSE Sensex
|
32241.93
|
32176.31
|
32318.08
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
BPCL
|
158.28
|
500.50
|
483.40
|
521.25
|
ONGC
|
153.72
|
159.35
|
157.57
|
161.82
|
Axis Bank
|
151.68
|
519.75
|
507.30
|
527.00
|
Tata Power
|
151.22
|
85.25
|
84.23
|
86.78
|
Vedanta
|
145.85
|
319.70
|
314.20
|
327.85
|
Wipro has become the official technology provider to McLaren Technology Group to help drive digitalization across its businesses.
HDFC Bank has retained its No 1 position in the BrandZ India top 50, doubling its brand value since 2014 with a sustained focus on improving services.
TCS has launched 'ignion', the company’s award-wining cognitive automation solution for IT operations, in Japan.
SBI’s investment banking arm SBI Capital Markets is looking to set up independent unit for insolvency resolution.