Extending their winning run for the sixth session, Indian equity benchmarks ended Friday's session on higher note, led by gains in index-heavyweights Indusind Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank amid persistent foreign fund inflow. Markets showcased a positive opening and stayed in green for whole day, as RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das appreciated the government's response to the COVID-19 crisis as being fiscally very prudent and very calibrated.  He said I cannot speak for the government. But I just want to say that in the central bank, as observers of what is happening in the country in the fiscal policy, I think the government's response has been very prudent and very calibrated. Traders took some respite with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's statement that business communities of India and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) should work to resolve their differences, work to create a more valuable and trusted regional value chains, remove the non-tariff barriers on both sides, ensure sanctity of rules of origin, and open markets to expand two-way trade. Market mood remained energetic in late afternoon deals, taking support from Fitch Ratings' report stating that a surge in gold prices since the start of coronavirus pandemic has helped to support higher loan growth by some Indian non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) that lend against the metal, a move that will bolster their interest income but the trend also raises potential risks associated with a fall in gold prices. Market participants also took a note of Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant's statement that India's urban population will grow rapidly by 2050, so new urbanization should be done on the back of sustainable development. He also said that cities in India are at a stage of massive development with a growing economy, regional linkages, and a vibrant environment. A sharp appreciation in the rupee also helped in building positive sentiments. The domestic currency strengthened 42 paise to end at 73.39 against the US dollar. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 353.84 points or 0.90% to 39,467.31, while the CNX Nifty was up by 88.35 points or 0.76% to 11,647.60.

The US markets settled higher on Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average erasing its losses for the year to date and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes carving out fresh record closes, as investors sifted through data on US consumer spending and confidence, a day after the Federal Reserve announced a policy shift that would allow employment and inflation to run hotter than in the past. The markets continued to benefit from optimism about the economic recovery following the coronavirus crisis, which has helped lift the major averages well off their March lows. The Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in personal income in July. The Commerce Department said personal income rose by 0.4 percent in July after slumping by 1.0 percent in June. The rebound surprised participants, who had expected income to dip by another 0.2 percent. The report also showed a continued surge in personal spending, which jumped by 1.9 percent in July after spiking by 6.2 percent in June. Street had expected spending to increase by 1.5 percent. The University of Michigan also released a report showing consumer sentiment in the US improved by more than initially estimated in the month of August. The report said the consumer sentiment index for August was upwardly revised to 74.1 from the preliminary reading of 72.8. The index is now well above the July reading of 72.5. The upward revision came as a surprise to participants, who had expected the consumer sentiment index to be unrevised at 72.8.

Crude oil futures ended marginally lower on Friday as worries about the near-term energy demand outlook amid a surge in new coronavirus cases weighed on oil prices. The World Health Organization has warned of a possible uptick in hospitalizations and mortality rates in Europe during the winter. Meanwhile, several oil companies have reportedly begun to restart operations following Hurricane Laura moving past Louisiana and Texas without causing any big damage to the upstream or downstream oil facilities. Crude oil futures for October declined 7 cents or 0.2 percent to settle at $42.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude lost 4 cents or 0.09 percent to settle at $45.05 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Rising for third straight session, Indian rupee strengthen considerably to its highest level in nearly six months amid rising foreign fund inflows into the equity markets. Traders mood were upbeat with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das' statement that the central bank has not exhausted its instruments or ammunition--whether on rate cuts or other policy actions--to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. He also said that the RBI wanted to keep its gun powder dry and hence opted for a status quo at the last policy review earlier this month. On the global front; Japanese yen hit session highs versus the dollar on Friday, buoyed by news that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will resign, while the dollar dropped after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would adopt an average inflation target. Finally, the rupee ended at 73.39, 43 paise stronger from its previous close of 73.82 on Thursday.

The FIIs as per Friday's data were net buyers in equity, while they were net sellers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 7195.80 crore against gross selling of Rs 5763.21 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 433.93 crore with gross sales of Rs 1754.81 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 2.36 crore against gross selling of Rs 4.00 crore.

The US markets ended higher on Friday amid optimism about the economic recovery following the coronavirus crisis. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Monday as investors wagered monetary and fiscal policies globally would stay super stimulatory for a protracted period, keeping the safe-haven dollar on the defensive. Indian markets ended higher for the sixth consecutive session on Friday lifted by gains in financial stocks. Today, the markets are likely to get an optimistic start of new week following positive global cues. Investors will be eyeing the June quarter GDP data which will be released by the National Statistical Office later in the day. Traders will be getting encouragement with report that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued new guidelines for opening up of more activities in areas outside the Containment Zones. In Unlock 4, which will come into effect from September 1, 2020, the process of phased re-opening of activities has been extended further. Under the new guidelines, states are not to impose any local lockdown (State/ District/ sub-division/City/ village level), outside the containment zones, without prior consultation with the central government. Some support will come with Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) chairman Rajiv Kumar's statement that central public sector enterprises, which have a combined net worth of close to Rs 12 lakh crore, can boost India's GDP by 2-3 percent by leveraging funds and stepping up capital expenditure. However, rising coronavirus cases in the country may keep upside in check. India has recorded its worst-ever single-day spike of 79,457 new coronavirus cases, taking its total caseload to 3,619,169. Traders may be concerned with private report that India's fiscal deficit is expected to touch 7 per cent of GDP in 2020-21 fiscal as against budget estimate of 3.5 per cent, with revenue collections being hit amid disruptions in economic activities due to lockdowns. There may be some cautiousness with Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) analysis of listed non-government non-financial (NGNF) companies showing that operating profits of manufacturing firms declined in the January-March quarter of 2019-20 on account of lower sales. Banking stocks will be buzzing with the RBI's data showing that bank credit grew 5.52 per cent to Rs 102.19 trillion and deposits increased 11.04 per cent to Rs 140.80 trillion in the fortnight ended August 14. In the year-ago period, bank credit stood at Rs 96.84 trillion and deposit at Rs 126.8 trillion, respectively. Telecom stocks will be in focus as Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) said that telecom industry's revenues are expected to rise 14-15 per cent in the current financial year led by some uptick in average revenue per user, though the subscriber base may remain flat with rural growth offsetting SIM consolidation in urban locations.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Mahindra & Mahindra has introduced the Marazzo with BSVI technology. 
• Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has launched Penicillamine Capsules USP, 250 approved by the USFDA. 
• HCL Technologies has opened its first European Cybersecurity Fusion Center in Gothenburg, Sweden. 
• Bajaj Finance has raised Rs 135 crore through Secured redeemable NCDs and allotted 1350 NCDs having face value of Rs 10 lakh each.