Thursday turned out to be a
volatile trading session but key Indian equity benchmarks managed to end the
session in green terrain near their crucial psychological levels of 36,200
(Sensex) and 10,850 (Nifty). After a cautious start, the markets altered
between green and red terrain frequently, impacted by a report that the goods
and services tax (GST) collected in January (for December) is seen to be the
lowest in the current fiscal. While the average collections during
April-December were Rs 96,800 crore a month, the collections in January are
around Rs 93,000 crore. Anxiety also spread among the investors with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's statement that countries like India and China have
begun affecting the world economy much more today and that needs to be taken
into account for having a relook at the global trade and financial systems.
But, in the last leg of the trade, key indices held their heads above neutral
lines, tracking firm cues from global markets. Traders took encouragement with
Crisil Ratings' latest India Outlook FY20 report stating that India's economic
growth may improve to 7.3% in the fiscal year 2019-20 (FY20), provided that
there are normal rains, oil prices lower than 2018 and a stable political
outcome of the general elections. It added that India is expected to clock a
growth rate of 7.2 percent in the current financial year, up from 6.7 percent
in 2017-18. The street got relief, amid reports that the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) will change its stance to neutral next month and cut interest rates in
June at the latest. Some support came with the United Nations' World Economic
Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2019 report stating that India's economy is
expected to grow at 7.4 per cent during 2018-19 and improve to 7.6 per cent in
the next fiscal. It added that growth continues to be underpinned by robust
private consumption, a more expansionary fiscal stance and benefits from
previous reforms. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 86.63 points or 0.24% to
36,195.10, while the CNX Nifty was up by 18.30 points or 0.17% to 10,849.80.
The US markets ended mostly
higher on Thursday after a wave of better-than-expected corporate earnings was
balanced against fears around softening global economic conditions. Some
support also came in on report that the Labor Department showed initial jobless
claims fell to their lowest level in almost fifty years in the week ended
January 19. The report said initial jobless claims slid to 199,000, a decrease
of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000. The drop surprised
participants, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 220,000 from the
213,000 originally reported for the previous week. With the unexpected
decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 197,000 in
November of 1969. However, gains remain capped, suggesting US economic growth
may slow down this year, the Conference Board released a report showing a
modest decrease by its index of leading US economic indicators in the month of
December. The Conference Board said its leading economic index edged down by 0.1
percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in November. The slight drop by
the index matched street estimates. The modest decrease by the leading index
reflected negative contributions from stock prices, the ISM New Orders Index
and building permits. Nasdaq gained 47.69 points or 0.68 percent to 7073.46 and
S&P 500 was up by 3.63 points or 0.14 percent to 2642.33, while Dow Jones
Industrial Average declined 22.38 points or 0.09 percent to 24553.24.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Thursday as traders reacted to the possibility of US sanctions on Venezuelan
crude amid intensifying political tensions in the South American nation. The
situation in Venezuela could give support to the oil markets if sanctions are
put forward, but the builds in US inventories were unexpected. The Energy
Information Administration (EIA) reported that domestic crude supplies climbed
by 8 million barrels for the week ended January 18. Separately, the EIA's
annual energy outlook report released said US crude oil production is expected to
continue to set annual records through the mid-2020s and will remain greater
than 14.0 million barrels per day through 2040. Benchmark crude oil futures for
March rose 51 cents or 1 percent to settle $53.13 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange, while March Brent crude lost a nickel or less than 0.1
percent to settle at $61.09 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian
rupee ended stronger against dollar on Thursday, owing to dollar sale by
exporters and banks. This was the second day of consecutive gains for the
domestic currency. Sentiments remained up-beat with Crisil Ratings' report
showing that India's growth rate is likely to inch up to 7.3 percent in
2019-20, provided that there are normal rains and a stable political outcome of
the general elections. It added that India is expected to clock a growth rate
of 7.2 percent in the current financial year, up from 6.7 percent in 2017-18.
Traders also took a note of report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will
change its stance to neutral next month and cut interest rates in June at the
latest. On the global front, US dollar pushed higher against a basket of its
rivals on Thursday but gains were held in check by concerns over global growth,
the US government shutdown and the ongoing US-China trade war. Finally, the
rupee ended at 71.07, 26 paise stronger from its previous close of 71.33 on
Wednesday.
The FIIs as per Thursday's data
were net sellers in equity and debt segments both. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 3850.34 crore against gross selling of Rs 4917.61 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 330.81 crore with gross sales
of Rs 598.46 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs
2.13 crore against no selling.
The US markets ended mixed on
Thursday following downbeat comments from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that
US is miles and miles from a trade deal with China coupled with the failure of
congressional votes to reopen the government. Asian markets were trading in
green on Friday despite fresh overnight uncertainties about US-China trade
negotiations. Indian markets ended Thursday's volatile session in green territory
as positive global cues helped underpin sentiment. Today, the start is likely
to be in green mirroring firm trade in Asian peers. Traders will be getting
some encouragement with Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala's
statement that the government will soon announce a package for farmers to boost
their income, amid speculations that the Centre is considering various measures
to address distress in the farm sector. There will be some support with apex
exporters body, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) stating that
the tariff war between the US and China is benefitting India as its exports to
the neighbouring country have increased by about 32 per cent during the
June-November 2018 period to $8.46 billion. Exports to China had stood at $6.37
billion in June-November 2017. Growth in exports to China is beneficial for
India as it has huge trade deficit with the neighbouring country. Traders will
also be reacting to Singapore's health minister stating that India has emerged
as one of the world's most-dynamic economies, developing at a great pace and
keeping at the forefront of technology and social innovation. There will be
some buzz in the telecom sector stocks as Telecom regulator Trai ruled out an
extension of February 1 deadline for migration to the new regime for
broadcasting and cable services and said it had assurances from service
providers that work related to seeking consumer's choice of channels is in full
swing. There will be some reaction in banking sector stocks with report that
Piyush Goyal, who has been given an additional charge of the finance ministry
in the absence of Arun Jaitley, is scheduled to meet chiefs of the state-owned
banks on January 28 to review financial performance of the banks. Among the key
issues, the meeting will take up the matter of credit flow to MSMEs,
agriculture and retail sectors. There will be lots of important earnings
announcements too, to keep the markets in action.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10,849.80
|
10,810.10
|
10,878.05
|
BSE Sensex
|
36,195.10
|
36,041.76
|
36,303.36
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Yes Bank
|
1,276.04
|
215.40
|
191.27
|
237.27
|
ITC
|
280.26
|
278.90
|
276.72
|
282.22
|
Sun Pharma
|
184.46
|
423.00
|
414.07
|
434.97
|
ICICI Bank
|
175.21
|
364.80
|
361.53
|
368.28
|
Tata Motors
|
134.61
|
175.40
|
172.63
|
179.23
|
Tata Motors has launched Harrier SUV at a starting price of Rs 12.69 lakh.
Maruti Suzuki India has signed a MoA with Government of Haryana to set up Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing, a model ITI, at Uncha Majra village in Gurugram district.
Vedanta's parent company -- Vedanta Resources is planning to invest about $1.6 billion more in South Africa for mining minerals as it looked to deepen engagement in the African nation.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has launched Propofol Injectable Emulsion, USP, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Diprivan Injectable Emulsion, USP, approved by the USFDA.