Indian equity benchmarks ended
Thursday's session with a gain of over half a percent, on the back of sustained
buying by participants. Frontline indices not only ended the session near
intraday high levels but also recaptured their crucial 11,200 (Nifty) and
38,100 (Sensex) bastions. After muted start, key indices gained some traction
and managed to keep their heads above water, as traders took some support from
Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K V Subramanian's statement that the government
may announce more fiscal measures to boost demand once the uncertainty related
to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic wanes. Buying further crept in as
calling for more investment in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India
is emerging as a land of opportunities. He added that stronger domestic
economic capacities can ensure global resilience against external shocks.
Markets extended their gains in late afternoon session, as traders remained
optimistic with Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant's statement that India will witness
huge growth in digital lending as the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the
acceptance of digital payments. Investors didn't give any heed to a private
report forecasts deeper distress for India which will lead to a 6 per cent
growth contraction in FY21, citing the yet to be stabilised infection curve and
the COVID-19 caseload in economically key states. According to the report, just
7 percent of the districts in economically key states of Maharashtra, Tamil
Nadu and Gujarat, accounting for 30.5 percent of the national economic output,
and in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh account for as much as 70 percent of the
caseload. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 268.95 points or 0.71% to 38,140.47,
while the CNX Nifty was up by 82.85 points or 0.74% to 11,215.45.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday following the release of some disappointing US economic data,
including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for US unemployment
benefits increased for the first time in sixteen weeks. The report said initial
jobless claims jumped to 1.416 million in the week ended July 18th, an increase
of 109,000 from the previous week's revised level of 1.307 million. Street had
expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 1.300 million
originally reported for the previous month. Jobless claims increased for the
first time since late March but remain well below the record high of 6.867
million set in the week ended March 28th. A separate report from the Conference
Board showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators increased by less
than expected in the month of June. The Conference Board said its leading
economic index jumped by 2.0 percent in June after soaring by an upwardly
revised 3.2 percent in May and plunging by 6.3 percent in April. Street had
expected the index to surge up by 2.5 percent in June compared to the 2.8
percent spike originally reported for the previous month. Besides, a sharp
decline by shares of Microsoft weighed on the markets, with the software giant
tumbling by 4.4 percent. Microsoft reported quarterly results that beat street
estimates on both the top and bottom lines but said transactional license
purchasing continued to slow and its LinkedIn unit was negatively impacted by
the weak job market.
Crude oil futures ended lower on
Thursday, extending losses from the previous session, as alarming growth in the
number of US cases of coronavirus point to the potential for further business
shutdowns, dulling the prospects for energy demand. An escalation in US-China
tensions is also adding to the concerns. Meanwhile, the US Energy Information
Administration reported that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 37
billion cubic feet for the week ended July 17. That was a bit larger than the
average increase of 33 billion forecast by S&P Global Platts. Crude oil
futures for September dropped 83 cents or 2 percent to settle at $41.07 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September Brent crude fell 98 cents
or 2.2 percent to settle at $43.31a barrel on London's Intercontinental
Exchange.
Indian rupee ended flat on
Thursday due to mild dollar demand from banks and importers. Investors remained
cautious as US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster has flagged concerns about
India's policy environment and micro-management of the economy. Juster said for
India to become a part of the global supply chain, first you need a stable
& predictable regulatory environment, a lighter touch on regulations and
you need to unleash and not micromanage economic growth. However, sentiments
got some support as calling for more investment in India, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said India is emerging as a land of opportunities. On the global
front, dollar hit four-month lows against a basket of peer currencies on
Thursday, resuming its slide as investors took a wait and see approach to
tensions between the United States and China. Finally, the rupee ended
unchanged from its previous close of 74.75 on Wednesday.
The FIIs as per Thursday's data
were net buyers in equity, while they were net sellers in debt segment. In equity
segment, the gross buying was of Rs 6924.61 crore against gross selling of Rs
5185.19 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1653.17
crore with gross sales of Rs 1875.93 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the
gross buying was of Rs 20.55 crore against gross selling of Rs 18.78 crore.
The US markets settled sharply
lower on Thursday as investors fled tech shares amid worsening pandemic, higher
US jobless claims and mixed corporate earnings. Asian markets are trading mostly
in red on Friday amid tensions between the US and China and an overnight fall
in US markets. Indian markets ended higher on Thursday led by gains in
financials and index heavyweight Reliance Industries. Today, the start of
session is likely to be pessimistic following sell-off in the global markets
coupled with rising coronavirus cases in the country. India has seen its
biggest daily spurt in the number of coronavirus cases, with over 48,000 new
infections being reported in a span of 24 hours. The total now stands at
1,288,130. Traders will be concerned with Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun
Bajaj's statement that the government is unlikely to meet the Budget targets
for 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 crisis but contraction in economic growth may
not be as severe as being pointed out by the outside world. However, some
respite may come later in the day with Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey's
statement that tax mop up in first quarter of the current fiscal is very
encouraging and indicates that the economy is recovering sooner than what was
anticipated at the time of imposition of lockdown. Some support may also come
as IHS Markit expects the Indian economy to rebound in the second half of 2020
as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, and predicts 6.7% growth in
the next financial year. Market participants may take note of Finance
Ministry's statement that the government is working on offering production
linked incentives for up to five sectors to boost domestic manufacturing. Power
stocks were in focus with a private report that power demand is expected to
decline by around 8% in current fiscal due to the steep fall in demand from
commercial and industrial segments on the back of Covid-19 pandemic-induced
nationwide lockdown. There will be some reaction in sugar stocks with ICRA's
report that the domestic sugar production is likely to go up by 12% to 30.5 MT
during the sugar year 2021, beginning October, due to availability of sugarcane
in Maharashtra and Karnataka. There will be some result announcements to keep
the markets in action.
Support
and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
11,215.45
|
11,132.47
|
11,269.12
|
BSE Sensex
|
38,140.47
|
37,844.36
|
38,330.80
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
State Bank of India
|
708.02
|
198.25
|
193.23
|
201.18
|
Zee Entertainment
Enterprises
|
651.96
|
158.95
|
155.18
|
165.23
|
Indian Oil Corporation
|
449.21
|
94.30
|
91.85
|
96.10
|
Axis Bank
|
402.50
|
460.85
|
455.12
|
470.67
|
ICICI Bank
|
378.38
|
392.25
|
382.18
|
398.98
|
Infosys has formed a consortium with pymetrics, Merit America, Per Scholas, Revature, and Woz Enterprise.
L&T has reported 79.41% fall in its consolidated net profit from continuing operations & discontinued operations attributable to owners at Rs 303.14 crore for Q1FY21 as against Rs 1472.58 crore for Q1FY20.
Wipro is planning to launch its 5G edge services solutions suite.
Bharti Airtel's subsidiary -- Airtel Payments Bank has entered into partnership with the NSDC to skill the youth in rural India.