Paring all of their early gains,
Indian equity benchmarks once again ended flat on Wednesday, as traders
remained on sidelines ahead of ahead of corporate results for the third quarter
FY18 to be released later this month and service PMI data to be released
tomorrow. However, markets made optimistic start with key gauges hitting their
crucial 10,500 (Nifty) and 34,000 (Sensex) levels in morning deals with traders
reacting positively to the last day's report of manufacturing PMI rising to
54.7 in December 2017 from 52.6 in November on the back of robust improvement
in the health of the sector since December 2012. Some support also came with
the Rajya Sabha unanimously passing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment)
Bill that replaces an Ordinance that prevents unscrupulous persons from
misusing or vitiating the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
Traders also took some encouragement with foreign brokerage report stating that
India's growth rate is expected to accelerate over the coming year and is
likely to improve further to 7.6% by 2019-20 as key sectors would revive from
disruptions related to the implementation of GST and demonetization. The report
further said the recovery in India's GDP growth will likely be relatively
gradual, preventing price pressures from rebounding and allowing the Reserve
Bank of India to keep rates on hold for the time being. However, really got
fizzled out and markets ended lower with traders booking all of their early gains
ahead of key corporate results starting next week. Investors are awaiting
corporate results, including from Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys that
are scheduled next week, amid signs the economy is recovering after the
withdrawal of high-denomination currency bills in late 2016 and the
introduction of a national goods and services tax last year. Meanwhile, the
government has notified lower 1% GST rates for manufacturers who have opted for
composition scheme as well as easier norms for traders opting for it. The
finance ministry has notified the changes decided by the GST Council, chaired
by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, in
November 2017. Finally, the BSE Sensex slipped 18.88 points or 0.06% to
33,793.38, while the CNX Nifty was up by 1.00 points or 0.01% to 10,443.20.
The US markets closed higher on
Wednesday, with the main benchmarks closing at fresh all-time highs. The
positive trading mood from 2017 appeared to continue into 2018, with stocks in
Asia and the US kicking off the New Year on a strong note. The main benchmarks
held on to earlier gains after the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve
meeting showed a distinct lack of unity over the central bank's projection of
three rate hikes in 2018. The Federal Reserve in December forecast three rate
hikes in 2018 but minutes of that central bank meeting show a distinct lack of
unity with the projection. The minutes portray two camps, of roughly the same
size, who are both uncomfortable with the forecast - and for completely
different reasons. On the economy front, the Institute for Supply Management
said Wednesday its manufacturing index rose to 59.7%, the second-highest
reading of the year, from 58.2% in November. Readings over 50% indicate more
companies are expanding than shrinking. Sixteen of the 18 industries tracked by
ISM reported growth. Across the subcomponents, production rose to 65.8 from
63.9 and new orders jumped to 69.4 from 64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
added 98.67 points or 0.40 percent to 24,922.68 and the Nasdaq gained 58.633
points or 0.84 percent to 7,065.53, and the S&P 500 edged higher by 17.25
points or 0.64 percent to 2,713.06.
Crude oil futures turned higher
on Wednesday ahead of the inventory data and as ongoing anti-government
protests in Iran raised the prospect of supply disruptions. Iran's elite
Revolutionary Guards reportedly deployed forces to three provinces in an effort
to quell anti-government unrest. The prospect of fresh supply disruption has
offset the impact of pipeline restarts in both Libya and North Sea. Meanwhile,
the American Petroleum Institute was slated to report its stockpiles survey in
afternoon, followed by the Energy Information Administration's weekly report
next day. Benchmark crude oil futures for January delivery ended higher by $1.26
or 2.1 percent at $61.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent
crude for March delivery was up by 1.89 percent to $67.84 a barrel on the ICE.
Snapping
its four-day winning streak, Indian rupee ended marginally weaker against
dollar on Wednesday, due to demand for greenback by banks and importers.
Investors remained sidelines ahead of services PMI data which is scheduled to
be release on January 04, 2017. However, losses were limited as some support
came with a private report stating that India's growth rate is expected to
accelerate over the coming year and are likely to improve further to 7.6% by
2019-20 as key sectors would revive from disruptions related to the
implementation of GST and demonetization. On the global front, dollar held near
a four-month low on Wednesday, having declined nearly 3% in the last three
weeks as investors cut positions before manufacturing data and minutes of a
December US Federal Reserve meeting due later in the day. Finally, the rupee
ended at 63.53, 5 paise weaker from its previous close of 63.48 on Tuesday.
The FIIs as per Wednesday'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 3166.29 crore against gross
selling of Rs 2546.92 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was
of Rs 863.27 crore with gross sales of Rs 1175.42 crore. Besides, in the hybrid
segment, there was no buying against gross selling of Rs 2.16 crore.
The US markets surged to fresh
closing highs in the last session, as upbeat data added to recent optimism
about the economic outlook. Also, stocks remained positive following the
release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.
The Asian markets have made a strong start with Japanese market surging to a
10-year high as solid economic data from the United States and Germany
reinforced investors' optimism while oil prices hovered at around two and half year
high. The Indian markets lost their way in the final hours and ended flat in
last session, despite firm cues from global markets, as traders' awaited
corporate earnings to give further cues. Today, the start is likely to be in
green on positive global cues. Traders will also be getting some support with
NITI Aayog's expectation that the first strategic disinvestment of Central
Public Sector Enterprises will be conducted within the current financial year.
It said that the process of divestment is being carried out by DIPAM
(Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) and the first
transactions are expected in the current financial year after a long gap of 14
years. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet has approved the revised model concession
agreement for public private partnership projects in major ports. The
amendments were made in the MCA to attract more investments in the port sector
and are expected to clear the hurdles created by some of the provisions in the
current model concession agreement. There will be some somberness in the IT
stocks on reports that the US is considering new regulations to prevent the
extension of H-1B visas as part of president Donald Trump's 'Buy American, Hire
American' initiative, a move which could hit tech firms and hundreds of thousands
of Indian IT professionals. The infra stocks too will be in focus after the
government approved Rs 12,178 crore worth of infrastructure projects and an
AIIMS in Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh to be constructed at a cost of Rs
1,351crore.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10443.20
|
10413.97
|
10488.02
|
BSE Sensex
|
33793.38
|
33706.42
|
33939.36
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
SBI
|
138.57
|
302.85
|
301.18
|
305.48
|
ITC
|
110.19
|
261.15
|
260.28
|
262.33
|
NTPC
|
103.42
|
177.05
|
175.77
|
179.32
|
Tata Motors
|
97.95
|
433.90
|
430.10
|
439.55
|
Coal India
|
92.40
|
271.85
|
269.88
|
273.63
|
NTPC has recorded its highest ever quarterly generation of 67,781 MUs during Q3 of 2017-18.
SBI and rural development bank NABARD have inked a MoU with five NGOs of West Bengal state for promoting 2,500 Joint Liability Groups.
M&M's subsidiary - SsangYong Motor Company has sold a total of 143,685 vehicles in 2017.
Coal India may miss out on meeting its production target of 600 MT in 2017-18, going by the production pattern during the first nine months of the year.