A session after showcasing a
wonderful rally, Indian equity indices faltered and failed to extend the
winning momentum on Wednesday as investors turned cautious ahead of key
economic data- index of industrial production (IIP) for February and consumer
price index (CPI) for March-to be released later in the day. Sentiments
remained downbeat over Former finance minister P Chidambaram's comment that a
more realistic deadline for rolling out the goods and services tax was October
1, instead of the scheduled date of July 1. While maintaining GST would be good
for the country in the long-term, the senior Congress leader cautioned the
government saying that implementation of the mega tax reform could be inflationary
in the short-term. He cited the preparation time needed for small and
medium-scale enterprises to get on to the new tax reform structure and the time
needed for activating the GSTN platform as the main reasons why he thought
October was a more realistic deadline. Adding the woes, leading exporters' body
EEPC India has raised a red flag against the debilitating impact of sharp rise
in rupee against dollar in the last three months on exports, which may slip off
from the recovery path, if the situation persists further. Since the first week
of January, rupee has gained by close to six per cent, eroding significantly
the exporters' margins and more importantly the competitive edge against
India's trade rivals in the international markets. Finally, the BSE Sensex
decreased 144.87 points or 0.49% to 29643.48, while the CNX Nifty was down by
33.55 points or 0.36% to 9,203.45.
The US markets closed lower on
Wednesday, as investors remained cautious amid persistent geopolitical risks.
The main indexes briefly trimmed losses as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
met with the Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the civil war in
Syria and nuclear capabilities of North Korea. Sergei Lavrov said Moscow wasn't
convinced of chemical attack in Syria, but both countries agreed that a United
Nations-led probe is necessary. On the economy front, the price of US imports
fell in March for the first time in four months owing to lower costs for oil,
but prices of many other goods continued to rise. The import price index
dropped 0.2% in March. It's the first decline since November. The cost of fuel
retreated 3.8% in March, the biggest drop in more than a year. Lower prices for
one of the nation's biggest imports kept overall import prices in check. Yet if
fuel is set aside, import prices climbed 0.2% last month to accentuate an
upward trend that began last year. Most of the increase was in industrial
supplies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 59.44 points or 0.29 percent to
20,591.86, the Nasdaq was down 30.61 points or 0.52 percent to 5,836.16, while
S&P 500 dropped 8.85 points or 0.38 percent to 2,344.93.
Crude oil futures slipped on
Wednesday despite report of surprise dip in U.S. crude stockpiles. The latest
Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed an unexpected drop in
U.S. crude stockpiles from record highs while production increased. The EIA
said that crude oil inventories fell by 2.166 million barrels. Gasoline
production grew by 0.412 million, while distillate stockpiles fell by 2.153 million
barrels. Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery fell by $0.29 to $53.11 on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for May delivery ended
lower by $0.30 at $56.65 on the ICE.
Indian
rupee depreciated against the US dollar on Wednesday, due to fresh demand for
the American currency from banks and importers. Investor maintained a cautious
approach ahead of the key macro data of Index of industrial production (IIP)
and Consumer price index (CPI) inflation slated to be announced after the
market hours. The domestic currency looked weak from the very beginning and the
sentiment was also dampened by lackluster trade in the equity markets. On the
global front, dollar languished at a five-month low versus yen on Wednesday, as
simmering geopolitical tensions checked risk appetite and put the safe-haven
Japanese currency in favour. Finally, the rupee ended at 64.67, 17 paise weaker
from its previous close of 64.50 on Tuesday.
The
FIIs as per Wednesday's data were net sellers in equity and debt segments both.
In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 4649.18 crore against gross sell
of Rs 5373.96 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs
995.17 crore with gross sales of Rs 1200.41 crore.
The US markets made another soft
closing in the last session. Stocks remained mostly negative throughout the
trading day amid lingering geopolitical concerns. The Asian markets have made
mostly a lower start led by the Japanese market which is down by another over a
percent after the dollar slumped and Treasury bond yields dropped to the lowest
level this year in reaction to President Donald Trump's comments that the
greenback was getting too strong and that he won't brand China a currency
manipulator. The Indian markets lost around half a percent in last session
ahead of key macro data and amid heightened geopolitical worries. Today, the
start of the final trading day of the week is likely to remain somber tailing
the weakness in other global markets and the traders will be negatively
reacting to the economic data announced after the market hours yesterday. In a
double whammy, India's industrial production contracted by 1.2 percent in
February due to poor performance manufacturing sector, while retail inflation
jumped to a five-month high of 3.81 percent in March on costlier protein items,
edible oils and non-food products like fuel and light. Traders will be eyeing
the official start of the fourth quarter earnings session, as Infosys, India's
second biggest IT services exporter, will report its March quarter results.
Traders will not only be eyeing its earnings but guidance too amid crackdown on
H-1B visas by the Trump administration. Traders will also be reacting to the
Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Review Committee report
which said that centre can take a pause on the fiscal consolidation front over
the next three years by maintaining a fiscal deficit to GDP ratio of 3% till
2019-20.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE
(Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
9203.45
|
9161.37
|
9245.97
|
BSE Sensex
|
29643.48
|
29515.87
|
29804.95
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
ICICI Bank
|
165.94
|
280.80
|
277.32
|
285.12
|
Hindalco
|
142.53
|
193.00
|
190.73
|
196.63
|
SBI
|
132.51
|
290.15
|
287.68
|
294.03
|
Adani Ports
|
81.01
|
327.60
|
321.97
|
334.92
|
Tata Power
|
76.43
|
85.55
|
84.33
|
86.53
|
Reliance Industries' telecom arm - Reliance Jio Infocomm has fully withdrawn the Jio Summer Surprise offer, following the advice of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Wipro has completed the acquisition of InfoSERVER S.A. on April 10, 2017.
SBI is planning to form a joint venture company in a bid to ramp up its merchant acquiring business.
Tata Power Delhi Distribution, a joint venture of Tata Power and the Government of Delhi, has made an advanced preparation with 39 mobile distribution transformers evenly stationed across its distribution network in North and North West Delhi.