Indian equity benchmarks ended
the choppy day of trade with minimal losses, as traders remained on sidelines
ahead of ahead of key corporate earnings later this week and the federal budget
next month. Market participants also opted to stay away from buying risky
assets ahead of the outcome of meeting organised by government think tank NITI
Aayog, and attended by a host of ministers including Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley, NITI Aayog functionaries and leading economists. Some concerns also
came with rating agency ICRA's latest report stating that credit growth of
Infrastructure finance firms will remain subdued over the short term. However,
losses remained capped with the World Bank projecting India's growth rate to
7.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.5 for the next two years. It said that with an
“ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms”, India has “enormous
growth potential” compared to other emerging economies. The 2018 Global Economics
Prospect released by the World Bank also said that India, despite initial
setbacks from demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST), is estimated to
have grown at 6.7 per cent in 2017. Traders also got some solace with domestic
rating agency CRISIL expecting India Inc's revenue growth to hit a five-year
high of 9 per cent for the October-December 2017 period, on higher realizations
in steel, aluminium, cement and crude oil-linked sectors, and a pick-up in
consumption-driven sectors such as auto and aviation. However, profits will
continue to contract, primarily due to the rising commodity prices. Traders
also took some comfort with the Cabinet approving key changes in India's
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy by easing investment norms across sectors
including aviation, construction and single brand retail among others. These
amendments are government's broader strategy to liberalize and simplify the FDI
policy to facilitate ease of doing business and turn India into a global
investment hotspot. Finally, the BSE Sensex slipped 10.12 points or 0.03% to
34,433.07, while the CNX Nifty was down by 4.80 points or 0.05% to 10,632.20.
The US markets closed lower on
Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logging their first decline in 2018,
as traders kept an eye on US bonds following an accelerated rise in the yield
on the 10-year Treasury note, prompted by a report that China is considering
halting purchases of US debt. After the record run, Wednesday's pullback was
seen as merely a pause in the rally as traders took the chance to take some
profits. On the economy front, the cost of goods imported into the US rose
slightly in December and finished the year with a 3% increase - the biggest
gain in six years. Although that's much higher than the 1.9% gain in 2016, it
still reflects a generally low level of inflation. In December, import prices
edged up a scant 0.1% after a big oil-inspired increase in the prior month.
Minus energy import prices fell 0.1%. Export prices fell 0.1% in December, the
government said. They rose 2.6% for all of 2017. The cost of oil and other
forms of energy rose more slowly in December. Energy prices have a big impact
on overall import inflation and they largely account for the increase in 2017. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 16.67 points or 0.07 percent to 25,369.13,
the Nasdaq dropped 10.006 points or 0.14 percent to 7,153.57, and the S&P
500 edged lower by 3.06 points or 0.11 percent to 2,748.23.
Crude oil futures continued their
upmove on Wednesday, extending 4-year highs amid further signs the global oil
market is tightening. Traders cheered an unexpected drop in US production while
data showing crude stockpiles fell for the eighth-straight week lifted
sentiment. EIA reported that U.S. crude fell by roughly 4.95 million barrels
for the week ended Jan. 5. Gasoline inventories rose by 4.14 million barrels,
while supplies of distillate rose by 4.3 million barrels. Benchmark crude oil
futures for February delivery ended higher by $0.61 or 0.97 percent at $63.57 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery was up
by 0.44 percent to $69.12 a barrel on the ICE.
Halting
a two-day slide, Indian rupee ended stronger against dollar on Wednesday, due
to increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks. Traders
took support with the World Bank report projecting India's growth rate to 7.3%
in 2018 and 7.5% for the next two years. It said that with an ambitious
government undertaking comprehensive reforms, India has enormous growth
potential compared to other emerging economies. Besides, weak dollar overseas
largely supplemented strength to the local currency. However, gains were
limited as some concerns remained among the investors with chief statistician
TCA Anant's statement that lower-than-expected inflation is estimated to pull
down nominal GDP growth to 9.5% in FY18, against the budgeted 11-11.5%. On the
global front, dollar extended losses against yen on Wednesday after the Bank of
Japan's move to trim Japanese government bond (JGB) purchases in the previous
session triggered speculation that it could begin tapering its massive,
ultra-easy monetary stimulus. Finally, the rupee ended at 63.60, 11 paise
stronger from its previous close of 63.71 on Tuesday.
The FIIs as per Wednesday's data
were net sellers in equity segment, while they were net buyers in debt segment.
In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5028.52 crore against gross
selling of Rs 5050.21 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was
of Rs 2164.26 crore with gross sales of Rs 808.00 crore. Besides, in the hybrid
segment, there was no gross buying against gross selling of Rs 3.55 crore.
The US markets despite coming off
their lows ended marginally in red in the last session. Profit taking mainly contributed
to the weakness after the major averages once again climbed to new record
closing highs in the previous session. The Asian markets have made mostly a
soft start and some indices in the region are down by over half a percent as
rally mood showed signs of waning as the yen remained near a six-week high and
traders dialed back their appetite for risky assets, there was jump in bond
yields as the news broke that senior officials in Beijing have recommended
slowing or halting purchases of U.S. bonds. The Indian markets after a range
bound day of trade ended flat with negative bias in last session, as investors
awaited cues from the Q3 earnings season and next month's Union Budget. Today,
the start is likely to remain somber on sluggish global cues and traders will
be eyeing the official start of the third quarter earnings season with
quarterly earnings from TCS and IndusInd Bank due later in the day. Traders
however, will be getting some support with global rating agency Moody's latest
report, which has said India and China remain the fastest growth economies in
Asia Pacific region. Also, on the domestic front the cabinet's decision to
allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49% in ailing Air India, and ease
foreign direct investment (FDI) policies in some critical areas, including
single-brand retail, broking services in construction, pharmaceuticals and
power exchanges, will keep the markets buzzing. Meanwhile, NITI Aayog Vice
Chairman Rajiv Kumar after a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with
country's leading economists said that employment generation was the key going
forward. Agri related stocks will be in focus, as the economists during an
interactive session with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, organised by NITI Aayog
suggested need to shift focus to increasing farmers' income rather than
increasing just production.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10632.20
|
10598.10
|
10660.90
|
BSE Sensex
|
34433.07
|
34307.92
|
34561.92
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
ITC
|
164.41
|
269.40
|
267.63
|
272.58
|
Coal India
|
153.00
|
308.30
|
305.60
|
310.40
|
SBI
|
130.65
|
301.10
|
298.78
|
304.63
|
Yes Bank
|
103.85
|
339.80
|
336.05
|
342.95
|
NTPC
|
81.97
|
173.95
|
172.63
|
176.03
|
Maruti Suzuki India has joined hands with the Delhi Police to implement a Traffic Safety Management System in the national capital.
ICICI Bank has signed a MoU with Ola to bring forth a range of integrated offers to their customers and driver-partners.
Infosys has announced the successful conclusion of an Advance Pricing Agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service.
SBI is planning for issuance of Long Term Bonds worth Rs 5,000 crore for financing of Infrastructure and Affordable Housing in domestic and overseas market.