A day after logging healthy
gains, Indian equity benchmarks were back in the negative territory and ended
with losses of over four percent on Wednesday, as the number of domestic
coronavirus cases increased even as a 21-day lockdown remained in force.
Domestic stocks started the first day of the fiscal year 2020-21 on lower note,
tracking bearish trend from global indices. Traders turned wary 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. Sentiments also remained dampened with a report showing that the
government's fiscal deficit touched 135.2% of the full-year target at
February-end mainly due to slower pace of revenue collections. The bourses
extended their free fall in late hour of trade, as anxiety remained among
traders with the Reserve Bank releasing data relating to India's International
Investment Position (IIP) for December, which showed a marginal improvement in
the ratio of foreign assets to foreign liabilities. The ratio of India's
international financial assets to international financial liabilities improved
to 62.1 per cent at the end of December 2019, up from 60.5 per cent in
September. Traders overlooked 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.
Meanwhile, in order to deal with the economic disruption caused by coronavirus
pandemic, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has unveiled further measures
including extension of realisation period of export proceeds, review of Limits
of Way and Means Advances of States/UTs and implementation of countercyclical
capital buffer. Finally, the BSE Sensex lost 1203.18 points or 4.08% to
28,265.31, while the CNX Nifty was down by 343.95 points or 4.00% to 8,253.80.
The US markets ended higher on
Thursday as investors appeared to focus on hope that a detente between some of
the biggest oil producers on the planet might be achieved to substantially curb
oil production and stabilize battered prices. Oil and oil-related stocks were
the main focus of the action, briefly superseding worries about the pandemic
and woeful data that highlighted the economic pain exerted by measures to
mitigate the spread of the deadly virus. President Donald Trump said that he
has been in contact with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and he
expected the Saudis and Russia to cut production by about 10 million barrels a
day. The strength that emerged on markets came even though the Labor Department
released a report before the start of trading showing another spike in initial
jobless claims in the week ended March 28. The Labor Department said initial
jobless claims skyrocketed to 6.648 million, an increase of 3.341 million from
the previous week's revised level of 3.307 million. With another
record-breaking increase, the number of seasonally adjusted initial claims
reached the highest level in the history of the seasonally adjusted series.
Crude oil future ended higher
with rally of around 25% on Thursday amid hopes the price war between Saudi
Arabia and Russia would end soon. President Donald Trump said that he expects
Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach an agreement to significantly cut production.
He expects a cutback of approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe
substantially more. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said the kingdom has called for an
urgent meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its
allies with the aim of reaching a fair solution to restore a desired balance of
the oil markets. Crude oil futures for May surged $5.01 or 24.7 percent to
settle at $25.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. June Brent crude
gained $5.20 or 21 percent to settle at $29.94 a barrel on London's
Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian Money market remained
closed on Wednesday and Thursday on account of Annual Bank Closing and Rama
Navami festival, respectively.
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 sharply
higher on Thursday boosted by energy shares as oil surged after President
Donald Trump said Russia and Saudi Arabia would cut production. Asian markets
are trading mixed on Friday, as the economic fallout from the coronavirus
pandemic continues to weigh on investors. Indian markets ended deeply in red on
Wednesday as rising coronavirus cases around the world and the prospect of a
global recession weighed on investors' appetite for riskier assets. Markets
remain closed on Thursday on the eve of Sri Rama Navami festival. Today, the start
of session is likely to be slightly negative amid mixed cues from Asian peers
and sharp rise in crude oil prices overnight. Investors will be looking ahead
to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video message at 9 am wherein the PM will
speak to the nation on control of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The
union health ministry said with 235 more people being confirmed positive for
the coronavirus, the number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,069 and the death
toll to 53 in the country on Thursday. There will be cautiousness with a
private survey stating that India's manufacturing activity expanded at its
slowest pace in four months in March and is likely to get worse as demand and
output take a hit from the coronavirus outbreak, putting a severe dent in
business optimism. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index,
compiled by IHS Markit, declined to 51.8 in March from February's 54.5, its
lowest since November but still above the 50-mark that separates growth from
contraction for a 32nd month. Traders will also be concerned with private
report that the Income Tax department on April 1 reported a massive fall in tax
collection for FY20, managing to collect Rs 9.97 lakh crore - 15% short of the
revised target. There will be some reaction with Fitch Solutions' statement
that India's fiscal deficit in 2020-21 may shoot up to 6.2% of the GDP from
3.5% government estimate as a fallout of the Covid-19 economic stimulus
package. Also, Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections on a gross basis in March
came in at Rs 97, 597 crore, an 8.4% fall over the corresponding month last
year, as revenue from domestic and import transactions slumped and fewer
taxpayers filed returns compared to previous months. Banking stocks will be in
focus as Moody's Investors Service changed the outlook for Indian banking
system to negative from stable, as it expects deterioration in banks' asset
quality due to disruption in economic activity from the coronavirus outbreak.
There will be some reaction in auto stocks with a private report that the
country's automobile sales are down by an average 64% as all manufacturing
plants have been shut since the lockdown announced on March 24.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
8,253.80
|
8,105.40
|
8,495.15
|
BSE Sensex
|
28,265.31
|
27,723.83
|
29,156.38
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
State Bank of India
|
529.54
|
186.55
|
183.03
|
192.28
|
Tata Motors
|
381.68
|
67.95
|
66.45
|
70.55
|
Indusind Bank
|
334.28
|
342.25
|
311.50
|
381.50
|
ICICI Bank
|
331.42
|
311.15
|
304.92
|
320.57
|
Axis Bank
|
277.45
|
358.65
|
348.50
|
374.30
|
Maruti Suzuki India has reported total sales of 83,792 units in March 2020, over 158,076 units sold in March 2019.
SBI has given a three-month relief to borrowers under its settlement schemes and will not charge extra interest keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hindustan Unilever has completed merger of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare with itself, almost 15 months after the announcement of the mega deal.
Coal India has produced 602.14 million tonnes of coal in FY 2019-20, missing the target of 660 MT for the year.