Indian equity benchmarks managed
to keep their head above water in a choppy day of trade and settled with modest
gains. Markets swung in both directions as investors remained cautious with
private report stating that retail and wholesale inflation accelerated in July
and the uptrend is likely to continue in the coming months, limiting the space
for further monetary easing. Though markets traded mostly in green during the
session, as traders took some encouragement with the government raising
estimate on food grain output for the crop year ended June on an increase in
the estimated yields of paddy and wheat. The government has revised upward the
country's overall food grain production by 2.3 million tonnes (MT) to a record
275.68 MT in 2016-17 crop year that ended in June. Adding to the optimism,
American think-tank Council on Foreign Relations' Senior Fellow for India
Alyssa Ayers said that the country has emerged as a strong world power but
still has ‘a long way to go'. Reports that Mutual funds managers pumped more
than Rs 30,000 crore in the stock markets during April-July of the current
financial year because of strong participation from retail investors, too
contributed to the gains. However, markets pared most of their gains in dying
hour of trade with report that the overwhelming presence of public sector is
holding back the Indian economy. Investors also took cues from minutes from the
last meeting of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) whose members said easing
inflation had supported the need for a rate cut at its August meeting, but
warned consumer prices could start accelerating. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained
24.57 points or 0.08% to 31,795.46, while the CNX Nifty was up by 6.85 points
or 0.07% to 9,904.15.
The US markets fell sharply on
Thursday, as heightened concerns about President Donald Trump's legislative
agenda and news of a terrorist attack in Barcelona combined to foster selling
on Wall Street. In what's being
investigated as a terrorist attack, a van plowed into a crowd in the Ramblas
tourist area Thursday in Barcelona, Spain, killing at least 13 and injuring
scores with unconfirmed reports that hostages were being held at a nearby
restaurant by gunmen. The last time all three major benchmarks finished down 1%
or more was May 17. Technology shares suffered the worst of the beating
following disappointing results from Cisco Systems. On the economy front, the
number of Americans who sought unemployment benefits in mid-August fell to the
lowest level in six months, mirroring the strongest US labor market in almost
two decades. Initial jobless claims in the period running from August 6 to
August 12 declined by 12,000 and stood at 232,000. That is the lowest level
since February and the second lowest since the current economic expansion began
in 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 274.14 points or 1.24 percent
to 21,750.73, the Nasdaq lost 123.2 points or 1.94 percent to 6,221.91, while
the S&P 500 edged lower by 38.1 points or 1.54 percent to 2,430.01.
Crude oil futures snapped their
three days losing streak on Thursday, as traders bet recent losses were
overdone considering the significant drop in US inventories. Traders mulled
over data showing U.S. crude supplies fell the most in eleven-months while U.S.
production rose to a more than two-year high. Traders appeared to take
advantage of lower crude prices, following a slump on Wednesday, after a report
from the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. production hit two-year
highs. The uptick in U.S. production, however, adds to concerns that the global
glut in crude supplies will continue during the second half of the year. Benchmark
crude oil futures for September delivery ended up by $0.31 or 0.6 percent to $47.09
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for September
delivery ended higher by $0.64 at $50.91 a barrel on the ICE.
Indian
Money market remained closed on Thursday on account of Parsi New Year's day.
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 3288.81 crore against gross selling of Rs 4812.62 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 292.38 crore with gross sales
of Rs 489.78 crore.
The US markets suffered sharp
sell-off in the last session with all the major averages deposing well over a
percent each on concerns about ongoing political turmoil in Washington, D.C.
Traders also reacted negatively to the latest batch of earnings news and
largely overlooked a report showing a bigger than expected drop in initial
jobless claims in the week ended August 12th. The Asian markets mirroring the
US markets have made an all red start with some indices declining by over a
percent in early deals amid concern over a terrorist attack in Spain. The
Indian markets after a choppy session managed a flat but positive closing in
the last session. Today the start is likely to be weak on feeble global cues
and lacking any positive trigger on the domestic front. Markets however, may get some support with a report
by real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia that India has surpassed China
in the global Retail Development Index in 2017, indicating growing prominence
of the country as a preferred retail destination for global brands. Also, it
has been reported that on improved
efficiency in granting construction permits, starting a business and resolving
insolvency is expected to improve India's overall ranking in the World Bank's
‘ease of doing business' survey 2018. Meanwhile, the government gave some
relief to taxpayers availing of transitional input tax credit under the GST
(Goods and Services Tax) regime by giving them an extra week till 28 August 28
to file tax returns. The pharma stocks will continue buzzing on reports that
the government has proposed to revamp the country's drug pricing regulator National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), allowing it to set prices of only
essential medicines. The Draft Pharmaceutical Policy, 2017, which focuses
heavily on prices of medicine, has proposed massive dilutions in the existing
framework, which would give more control to the government over the operations
of the NPPA.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE
(Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
9904.15
|
9876.00
|
9940.05
|
BSE Sensex
|
31795.46
|
31693.87
|
31917.28
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
Coal India
|
209.45
|
246.95
|
239.55
|
251.85
|
Bank of Baroda
|
201.23
|
148.25
|
145.85
|
151.45
|
Vedanta
|
190.19
|
304.80
|
300.45
|
309.70
|
ITC
|
137.04
|
280.00
|
277.63
|
282.63
|
Infosys
|
128.92
|
1020.85
|
1002.85
|
1034.05
|
Tata Power has become the first power utility to introduce QR code service for bill payments in Mumbai
ITC has decided to further increase its investment in the integrated food park at Kapurthala in Punjab to Rs 1,700 crore.
BPCL has inked a MoU with Energy Efficiency Services, under the Ministry of Power, for distribution of energy efficient appliances under the flagship UJALA scheme.
Maruti Suzuki has launched a sporty version of its mid-sized sedan Ciaz with petrol variant tagged at Rs 9.39 lakh.