Reversing previous session's
heavy losses, Indian equity indices showcased courageous performance on Tuesday
by gaining more than three and half percent in the session, tracking Asian
peers, after upbeat factory data from China gave investors hope of a rebound in
activity despite a spike in coronavirus cases in India. Key indices opened
higher and stayed up-beat for whole trading session, as investors' sentiment
got a boost from report that the government has put off implementation of the
uniform stamp duty on transfer of shares, debentures, futures, options,
currency and other capital market instruments to July 1, 2020. Some
encouragement also came as in line with the Budget announcement, the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) opened certain specified categories of government securities
(g-secs) for non-resident investors as part of an initiative to deepen the bond
market. Buying got intensified in the late hour of trading, taking support from
Fitch Solutions' statement that the RBI is likely to cut benchmark interest
rate by another 100 bps in 2020-21 fiscal and continue to employ all policy
tools at its disposal to support growth and financial stability to contain the
impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the economy. Adding to the optimism, in a big
relief to the agriculture sector, the government has extended the interest
subsidy to all crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakh given by banks which are due or
will be due between March 1, 2020 and May 31, 2020. Traders ignored domestic
credit rating agency India Ratings (Ind-Ra) cuts its FY21 growth forecast to
3.6% amid coronavirus-related worries. It has assumed that a full or partial
lockdown will continue till end of April and economic activities will be
gradually restored only after May. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 1028.17
points or 3.62% to 29,468.49, while the CNX Nifty was up by 316.65 points or
3.82% to 8,597.75.
The US markets ended lower on
Tuesday on lingering concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus
pandemic, as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said confirmed cases in his state
jumped to more than 75,000 overnight. Besides, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
secured its worst first-quarter performance ever, losing more than 23% of its
value in the first three months of 2020. The 30-stock benchmark had its worst
quarter since 1987. The S&P 500 fell 20% in the first quarter, its worst
first quarter ever and its biggest quarterly loss since 2008. The Nasdaq fell more
than 14% in the first quarter. On the economic data front, reflecting a
deterioration in the short-term outlook, the Conference Board released a report
showing a notable decrease in US consumer confidence in the month of March. The
Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slumped to 120.0 in March
from an upwardly revised 132.6 in February. The report said the present
situation index dipped to 167.7 in March from 169.3 in February, reflecting a
modestly less favorable assessment of current conditions. Meanwhile, a report
released by MNI Indicators showed a continued contraction in Chicago-area
business activity in the month of March. MNI Indicators said its Chicago
business barometer fell to 47.8 in March from 49.0 in February, with a reading below
50 indicating a contraction in regional business activity. The Chicago business
barometer remained below 50 for the ninth straight month but showed a
relatively modest decrease compared to economist estimates for a slump to 40.0.
The modest decrease by the business barometer came as the production index
returned to contraction territory after February's rise above the 50-mark and
demand for new orders plunged by 7.9 percent. MNI Indicators said some firms
reported a rise in orders due to stockpiling by US customers, while others
noted a fall in new business due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Tuesday after President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir
Putin about efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and
stabilize the crude market. They both agreed on the importance of stability in
the global energy markets and to work together through the G-20 to defeat the
virus. However, oil prices dropped by more than half in March to suffer their
largest quarterly percentage decline on record amid a demand slump caused by
the coronavirus pandemic and a glut of supply thanks to a Russia-Saudi
oil-price war. Crude oil futures for May gained 39 cents or 1.9 percent to
settle at $20.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, May
Brent crude fell 2 cents 0.09 percent to settle at $22.74 a barrel on London's
Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian rupee erased all its
intraday gains and weakened a bit against dollar on Tuesday, due to fresh
demand for the American currency from banks and importers. Investors' sentiment
remained fragile amid concerns over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on
the domestic as well as global economy. Some concern also came as domestic
credit rating agency India Ratings (Ind-Ra) cuts its FY21 growth forecast to
3.6% amid coronavirus-related worries. It has assumed that a full or partial
lockdown will continue till end of April and economic activities will be
gradually restored only after May. However, strong trend in the domestic equity
market supported the rupee. On the global front, dollar climbed against a
swathe of currencies on Tuesday amid fiscal year-end demand by Japanese firms
while the Australian dollar slipped despite a Chinese survey showing
manufacturing returned to growth in March. The last traded price of rupee was
75.60, 1 paisa weaker from its previous close of 75.59 on Monday.
The FIIs as per Tuesday's data
were net sellers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 6405.82 crore against gross selling of Rs 10030.48 crore,
while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 937.23 crore with gross
sales of Rs 2737.79 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was
of Rs 1.54 crore against gross selling of Rs 3.21 crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Tuesday as the coronavirus pandemic battered huge swaths of the global economy.
Asian markets are trading mixed on Wednesday after results of a private survey
showed China's manufacturing activity expanded slightly in March, compared with
February's sharpest contraction on record. Indian markets ended the financial
year 2019-20 on a positive note Tuesday bolstered by strong global cues. Today,
the start of new fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21) is likely to be cautious following
weakness in Asian peers, amid concerns related to coronavirus slowing economic
growth. The total number of Covid-19 cases in India has reached 1397, including
1238 active cases, while 124 people have been cured/discharged. Besides, as
many as 35 people have died because of Covid-19. There will be some
cautiousness with report that the government has missed the collection target
for the current financial year from CPSE disinvestment set in the Revised
Estimates of Budget by about Rs 14,700 crore. Also, the government's fiscal
deficit touched 135.2% of the full-year target at February-end mainly due to
slower pace of revenue collections. Though, traders may get some respite later
in the day with the government data showing that eight core sector industries
recorded a growth of 5.5% in February, highest in 11-months, mainly due to
healthy expansion in output of coal, refinery products and electricity. Traders
may take note of report that the RBI is likely to cut benchmark interest rate
by another 100 bps in 2020-21 fiscal and continue to employ all policy tools at
its disposal to support growth and financial stability to contain the impact of
Covid-19 pandemic on the economy. Besides, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
said the IMF can develop innovative and ingenious methods to meet COVID-19
related financing requirements given that policy space is severely constrained
in most countries in these unprecedented circumstances. Meanwhile, the
government has extended the existing foreign trade policy (2015-20) for one
year till March 2021 amid coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown to contain the
virus spread. Public sector banks' (PSB) will be in focus as the proposed PSB
merger will come into effect from today. Auto sector stocks will also be in
action, as automobile manufacturers will release their March auto sales figures
today amid expectations of at least 50% drop in sales.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
8,597.75
|
8,411.07
|
8,731.37
|
BSE Sensex
|
29,468.49
|
28,833.61
|
29,937.13
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
State Bank of India
|
595.44
|
196.85
|
190.43
|
200.88
|
ICICI Bank
|
462.80
|
323.75
|
314.88
|
333.73
|
Tata Motors
|
461.67
|
71.05
|
69.00
|
72.30
|
Oil & Natural Gas
Corporation
|
458.93
|
71.05
|
64.68
|
72.30
|
Vedanta
|
446.30
|
64.70
|
62.53
|
66.93
|
ITC has commenced production of Savlon Sanitisers at its perfume manufacturing facility in Himachal Pradesh to cater to the soaring demand due to the outbreak of the Corona virus pandemic.
Bharti Airtel has extended the validity period of more than 8 crore pre-paid connections until April 17, 2020.
Bajaj Finance is offering borrowers hassle-free access to funds through its instant personal loans.
HCL Technologies is not expecting any significant impact on business in March quarter on account of the coronavirus outbreak, and that booking during the period has largely been on track with significant part of closures happening in January.