Bears took full control on Dalal
Street with frontline gauges ending Wednesday's trade with a cut of around a
percent, breaching their crucial 10,200 (Nifty) and 33,100 (Sensex) levels, as
growing fears over the PNB scam and continued selling pressure from FIIs on
expectations of faster than anticipated interest rate hike in the US kept the
underlying sentiments cautious. After a cautious start, markets extended their
downfall to end near intraday lows as sentiments turned pessimistic with a
private report that private equity and venture capital investments in February
registered a sharp 60% month-on-month decline to $1.4 billion across 63 deals,
due to the absence of any mega deals. As per the report, no major deals above
the value of $300 million happened last month, causing the decline from
January, which registered deals worth $3.5 billion. Separately, following the
new norms on stressed assets issued by the RBI last month, power companies fear
that two-thirds of private thermal power capacity is at high risk of being
declared as non-performing assets (NPA). Severe impact is expected on 51,000-Mw
existing power generation capacity set up with investments of more than Rs 4
lakh crore, and another 28,000-Mw plants are under construction. Traders failed
to get any sense of relief with report that the government is planning to pitch
for an upgrade in its sovereign ratings from global rating agency Fitch,
highlighting its structural reform initiatives and a revised fiscal
consolidation framework. Officials from the Finance Ministry are scheduled to
meet representatives from Fitch Ratings on March 7 as part of the annual review
by the agency. Traders failed to get any solace with private report that the
Indian economy is likely to recover gradually to 7.1% in the 2018-19 financial
year, as GST-related disruptions have eased and consumption levels have
improved. Finally, the BSE Sensex declined 284.11 points or 0.85% to 33,033.09,
while the CNX Nifty was down by 95.05 points or 0.93% to 10,154.20.
The US markets closed mostly
lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial
Average closed lower as the resignation of top White House economic adviser
Gary Cohn stoked fears of a trade war but the tech-laden Nasdaq bucked the
trend to extend its winning streak to a fourth session. Concerns about the
prospect of a global trade war, prompted by Trump's plan to introduce tariffs
on steel and aluminum imports, intensified as Cohn had opposed the tariff
proposal and was widely viewed as having a moderating influence within the
White House. Still, some of the selling pressure eased following the release of
the Federal Reserve's beige book, which emphasized modest economic growth and
moderate inflation, helping the indexes to bounce off intraday lows. On the
economy front, the US trade deficit climbed 5% in January and hit a nearly
10-year high, continuing a steady rise since President Trump took over that
could exacerbate already tense disputes between the administration and key
trading partners. The US trade deficit rose to $56.6 billion in January from
$53.9 billion in December. The deficit in January was 16% higher compared with
the same month in 2017, when President Trump took office. Exports fell 1.3%,
largely reflecting a big drop in the volatile category of commercial aircraft
shipments. Exports of oil, chemicals and other industrial supplies also
declined. Imports were unchanged at $257.5 billion. The biggest increase in
petroleum imports in three years was offset by declines in cellphones, computer
chips and other consumer-related goods. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost
82.76 points or 0.33 percent to 24,801.36, the S&P 500 was down by 1.32
points or 0.05 percent to 2,726.80, while the Nasdaq gained 24.642 points or
0.33 percent to 7,396.65.
Crude oil futures edged lower on
Wednesday as concerns surrounding a possible trade war intensified and data
revealed a fresh weekly record for domestic crude production. The Energy Information
Administration (EIA) reported a second straight weekly climb in U.S. crude
inventories, but the size of the climb nearly matched market expectations. The
EIA reported a 2.4 million barrel build in crude oil inventories for last week,
versus expectations for a 2.7 million barrel build. Also, gasoline inventories
declined by 800,000 barrels last week. Also, Crude prices fell amid speculation
that U.S. oil production will rise sharply. The U.S. EIA boosted its 2018 and
2019 forecasts on U.S. crude-oil production. Benchmark crude oil futures for
April delivery declined $1.45 or 2.3 percent at $61.15 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. May Brent crude dropped $1.45 or 2.2 percent to settle at
$64.34 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Rising
for the fourth straight day, Indian rupee ended marginally stronger against
dollar on Wednesday, owing to dollar sale by exporters and banks. Traders took
support with private report enlightening that the Indian economy is likely to
recover gradually to 7.1% in the 2018-19 financial year, as GST-related
disruptions have eased and consumption levels have improved. The report added
that gradual recovery is underway and the country has started to recuperate from
the cyclical and structural bottlenecks witnessed over the past two years. The
domestic unit also found some support as dollar weakened overseas. However,
extremely bearish local equity markets and unabated foreign fund outflows,
restricted the further move. On the global front, dollar fell to a two-week
intraday low on Wednesday following the resignation of Donald Trump's top
economic adviser after he lost his battle against trade tariffs. Finally, the
rupee ended at 64.89, 7 paise stronger from its previous close of 64.96 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 5929.31 crore against gross
selling of Rs 5180.10 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was
of Rs 592.17 crore with gross sales of Rs 771.22 crore. Besides, in the hybrid
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 0.10 crore against gross selling of Rs 0.42
crore.
The US markets ended mostly in
red on Wednesday after White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders suggested
Mexico and Canada could be exempt from President Donald Trump's planned tariffs
on steel and aluminum imports. All the Asian markets were trading in green in
early deals on Thursday, after market participants digested reports of top
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn's resignation. Indian equity indices
edged lower for sixth straight session on Wednesday, as authorities widened a
probe into Punjab National Bank's $2 billion fraud. Today, the start of the
session is likely to be on positive side, as traders might go for value buying
after six days of continuous drubbing amid firm trade in regional counterparts.
Traders will take some support with Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar's
statement that the country's economy, which had witnessed slow growth due to
decline in private investment and other factors, is on the rise again. He added
that the employment should get due attention and that job creation would
contribute to GDP growth as well. Some support will also come from report that
the Indian government reiterated its pitch for a sovereign rating upgrade to
Fitch, citing strong macro-economic fundamentals. Fitch has a BBB-, the lowest
investment grade sovereign rating on India, with a stable outlook. However, the
Congress' victory over the ruling BJP in Rajasthan local body polls and the
Telugu Desam Party's decision to pull out two of its ministers in the central
government may serve to keep underlying sentiment somewhat cautious. Stocks
related to telecom space will be buzzing on report that The Union Cabinet has
relaxed spectrum holding caps, giving a boost to M&As and spectrum sale, as
carriers try to sell assets, including airwaves, to repay debt. The Cabinet
also extended the payments tenure for auctioned airwaves from 12 years. Shares
of consumer goods firms could be in focus after the Union Cabinet hiked
dearness allowance to Central Government employees.
Support
and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous
close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE
Nifty
|
10,154.20
|
10,116.05
|
10,217.85
|
BSE
Sensex
|
33,033.09
|
32,905.75
|
33,245.82
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous
close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance
(Rs)
|
(in
Lacs)
|
ICICI
Bank
|
314.73
|
286.70
|
283.43
|
291.88
|
SBI
|
312.63
|
246.65
|
243.35
|
252.65
|
Tata
Motors
|
155.99
|
347.80
|
342.27
|
354.32
|
ITC
|
151.53
|
259.90
|
255.47
|
262.42
|
Hindalco
Industries
|
139.60
|
224.45
|
220.60
|
226.80
|
TCS and Virgin Atlantic have extended their strategic partnership for a further five years.
Infosys has inaugurated its flagship Technology and Innovation Hub in Indianapolis.
Bharti Airtel and GBI have entered into a strategic agreement to unlock the capacity on GBI's India-Middle East-Europe submarine cable system.
Hero MotoCorp has introduced the new -- Super Splendor -- across markets in the country.