Indian bourses managed to end Thursday's
trading session in positive territory, with Sensex and Nifty reclaiming their
crucial psychological level of 36,700 and 11,050, respectively. Markets made a
positive start, amid reports that the income tax (I-T) department notified the
modified norms for startups to enable them to seek 'angel tax' exemption for
investments of up to Rs 25 crore, with an aim to encourage budding
entrepreneurs. The modified norms will be effective retrospectively from
February 19, 2019, when the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade (DPIIT) relaxed the norms for startups. Trade remained positive for the
most part of the session, aided by CARE Ratings' latest report showing that
debt quality of Indian companies improved during January-August 2018. CARE
Ratings' Debt Quality Index (CDQI) remained positive in the reported period.
However, some volatility witnessed during noon deals, as the Process Plant and
Machinery Association of India (PPMAI) expressed concern on surge in metal and
capital goods imports from countries such as Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Japan with whom India has pacts to promote free trade. It said that the Free
Trade Agreements (FTAs) along with lack of reciprocity is adversely hurting the
steel manufacturers as well as the capital goods industry. Traders got cautious
with a private report stating that the likelihood of Indian GDP growth coming
at below 7 percent in 2019-20 is very high despite aiding factors like low oil
prices and an expansionary budget. The report also noted that global slowdown,
tight financial conditions and political uncertainty in the election year will
be the biggest headwinds for growth. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged 89.32
points or 0.24% to 36,725.42, while the CNX Nifty was up by 5.20 points or
0.05% to 11,058.20.
Extending their losses for four
straight sessions, the US markets ended lower on Thursday, after the European
Central Bank (ECB) slashed its economic growth forecast, citing lingering,
mainly external uncertainties. The ECB also said it now expects eurozone
interest rates to remain at the current level at least till the end of this
year. The eurozone growth outlook for this year was cut to 1.1% from 1.7%,
while the outlook for next year was trimmed to 1.6% from 1.7%. The ECB said that
the risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook are still tilted to the
downside, on account of the persistence of uncertainties related to
geopolitical factors, the threat of protectionism and vulnerabilities in
emerging markets. Besides, ECB President Mario Draghi said while there are
signs that some of the idiosyncratic domestic factors dampening growth are
starting to fade, the weakening in economic data points to a sizeable
moderation in the pace of the economic expansion that will extend into the current
year. On the economic front, a day ahead of the release of the more closely
watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report showing a
modest decrease in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week
ended March 2. The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 223,000, a
decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 226,000. Meanwhile,
a report released by the Federal Reserve showed consumer credit in the US
increased by more than expected in the month of January. The report said
consumer credit climbed by $17.0 billion in January after rising by a revised
$15.4 billion in December. Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 200.23 points
or 0.78 percent to 25473.23, S&P 500 declined 22.52 points or 0.81 percent
to 2748.93 and Nasdaq was down by 84.46 points or 1.13 percent to 7421.46.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Thursday buoyed by data showing a fall in February Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) output to its lowest in nearly four years.
OPEC's crude production from edged down by 60,000 barrels a day to 30.8 million
barrels a day in February from a month earlier. The output level was the lowest
since March 2015, when Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo had yet to join
OPEC-though at the time, Qatar was still a member. Among the 11 members with
quotas under the output cut agreement that began at the start of the year,
compliance stood at 79%, with Saudi Arabia slashing output to 10.15 million
barrels a day in February- its lowest since May 2018. Benchmark crude oil
futures for April surged 44 cents or 0.8 percent to settle at $56.66 a barrel
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. May Brent crude gained 31 cents or 0.5
percent to settle at $66.30 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian
rupee continued its upward march for the third straight session on Thursday, on
persistent selling of the American currency by exporters. Traders took note of
a report that India has further strengthened its position of being a net
importer of oil during the five years of the Modi government, floundering on an
ambitious plan that entailed reducing country's import dependency of oil by 10
per cent by 2022. However, gains remain capped as Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that trade tensions and political
uncertainty including BREXIT are weighing on the world's economy. OECD lowered
its forecast to 3.3 per cent for this year, down from the 3.5 per cent it predicted
in November, which was itself a downgrade from a previous 3.7 per cent. On the
global front, euro took a breather on Thursday as investors prepared for the
European Central Bank meeting, with many hoping any signals it will add fresh
stimulus into the economy could inject some life into currencies stuck in
trading ranges. Finally, the rupee ended at 70.00, 28 paise stronger from its
previous close of 70.28 on Wednesday.
The FIIs as per Thursday's data
were net buyers in equity and debt segments both. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 6716.72 crore against gross selling of Rs 5329.79 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1887.59 crore with gross
sales of Rs 794.69 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was
of Rs 0.07 crore against gross selling of Rs 2.34 crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday after the European Central Bank unveiled plans to deploy additional
stimulus, raising fresh worries about the health of the global economy. Asian
markets are trading in red on Friday on the back of an overnight slide on Wall
Street, as investors grappled with fresh concerns over the state of the global
economy. Indian markets extended their gains for fourth straight session and
ended higher with modest gains on Thursday as investors sentiment remained
positive amid a strengthening rupee and sustained foreign fund inflows. Today,
the start of last trading day of the week is likely to be in red mirroring
weakness in Asian peers amid global growth concerns. The European Central Bank
slashed its growth forecasts and launched an emergency round of policy
stimulus. On the domestic front, traders will be concerned about a report that
the government may be staring at higher-than-projected deficit for the current
fiscal with country's direct tax revenue expected to fall short by Rs 60,000 to
70,000 crore over the revised target of Rs 12 lakh crore for FY19. As per the
report, the direct tax revenue growth is at 12.2 per cent so far as against
revised full year aim of 19.8 per cent. However, some support may come later in
the day with Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu's statement that the
country's goods export will touch $330 billion in 2018-19, which will be the
highest ever. He said the country's merchandise exports have seen high growth
in the past six years through sector-specific interventions, focused export
promotion initiatives, and quick resolution of issues. Meanwhile, the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) notified the norms for banks with regards to two per cent
interest subvention or subsidy for short-term crop loans during 2018-19 and
2019-20. The Centre has already approved the scheme. Under the scheme, an
additional two per cent interest subvention is provided to farmers repaying
loans promptly. There will be some reaction in power sector stocks with report
that the government has cleared investment proposals worth over Rs 31,560 crore
in power projects, including two coal-based thermal plants and a hydro project
on river Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir. There will be some buzz in the textile
industry stocks with report that the Union Cabinet has approved a scheme for
rebate of all state and central embedded levies for apparel and made-up textile
segments, which would make shipments zero-rated, thereby boosting the country's
competitiveness in export markets. Besides, the Cotton Association of India
said that the total cotton production is likely to decline by over 11 percent
to 328 lakh bales (of 170 kgs each) for the 2018-19 season, mainly low rainfall
in many key cotton growing areas. In the last season (2017-18) the total cotton
output stood at 365 lakh bales.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
11,058.20
|
11,027.18
|
11,089.13
|
BSE Sensex
|
36,725.42
|
36,600.78
|
36,840.15
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
ONGC
|
302.11
|
152.05
|
150.53
|
154.53
|
Yes Bank
|
272.30
|
231.70
|
228.23
|
235.58
|
Tata Motors
|
270.52
|
189.30
|
186.92
|
192.57
|
ICICI Bank
|
153.55
|
370.80
|
368.20
|
373.70
|
SBI
|
148.99
|
281.75
|
278.77
|
283.62
|
L&T's construction arm - L&T Construction has secured orders from clients across varied states in India.
Tata Motors has signed a MoU with Wise Travel India to deploy Tigor Electric Vehicles in New Delhi.
Indian Oil Corporation has inaugurated LNG import terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu.
Maruti Suzuki India has set up Fully Automated Driving Test Centre at the Regional Transport Office in Mayur Vihar Phase I, Delhi.