Benchmark indices ended lower on
the F&O Expiry day, with Sensex and Nifty slipping below their crucial
psychological levels of 35,900 and 10,800, respectively. The markets made a
firm start of the day, amid a private report indicating that private equity
(PE) investments in India witnessed a 36 per cent growth to $1,325 million
despite fall in volume on account of increased follow-on investments last month
as compared to a year ago. Trade remained positive for most part of the
session, aided by a report that the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises is organizing a programme on Technology Support and Outreach
(TECH-SOP) in New Delhi. The objective of the programme is to educate MSMEs and
enhance their awareness about latest technological innovation available and
sensitize them on the role of technology in creating competitiveness and
opportunities. Investors took a note of the commerce ministry's statement that
India and countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region have huge
potential to boost economic ties in areas like agriculture, health, energy and
information technology. But, volatility which came during noon deals pushed the
markets lower to settle in red, on the account of weak cues from global
markets. Traders got cautious with Fitch Ratings' statement that government's
$7 billion (around Rs 48,000 crore) fund infusion into public sector banks
(PSBs) would not be sufficient to support significantly stronger lending
growth. Fitch estimated that banks would need an additional $23 billion (around
Rs 1.6 trillion) in 2019, after these latest injections, to sufficiently meet
minimum capital standards. Adding more anxiety among market participants,
credit rating agency, India Ratings said that the Government has depended on
the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in FY19, but such borrowing runs the
risk of understating the fiscal deficit number. It further noted that the
Government has borrowed an additional Rs 500 billion from the NSSF to take its
total dependence on this route to Rs 1,420 billion or 22.4 percent of the
budgeted fiscal deficit in FY19. Finally, the BSE Sensex lost 37.99 points or
0.11% to 35,867.44, while the CNX Nifty was down by 14.15 points or 0.13% to
10,792.50.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday after the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un ended abruptly without an agreement on the denuclearization
of the Korean peninsula. Trump said the North Korean dictator wanted the US to
lift all sanctions without having to give up all of his weapons of mass
destruction. The president noted that the two sides will continue to work
toward an agreement, although the lack of a deal at the summit added to recent
uncertainty on Markets. However, indexes posted strong gains in February.
Better-than-expected fourth-quarter (Q4) gross domestic product (GDP) data
helped to offset some of the selling pressure during the session. The Commerce
Department said real GDP climbed by 2.6% in the Q4 compared to the 3.4% jump in
the Q3. Street had expected GDP to increase by 2.3%. The bigger than expected
increase in GDP came as consumer spending growth slowed but continued to make a
strong contribution to the economy. Consumer spending jumped 2.8% in the fourth
quarter after surging up by 3.5% in the third quarter. The report also showed
positive contributions from non-residential fixed investment, exports, private inventory
investment, and federal government spending. Meanwhile, a report released by
the Labor Department showed first-time claims for US unemployment benefits rose
by more than expected in the week ended February 23. The report said initial
jobless claims climbed to 225,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous
week's revised level of 217,000. The Labor Department said the less volatile
four-week moving average fell to 229,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous
week's revised average of 236,000. Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 69.16
points or 0.27 percent to 25916.00, S&P 500 lost 7.89 points or 0.28
percent to 2784.49 and Nasdaq was down by 21.98 points or 0.29 percent to
7532.53.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Thursday, while Brent crude prices finished lower on weaker Chinese economic
data, which fed concerns over a demand slowdown. Gauge of China's factory
activity fell to the lowest level in three years, as production contracted
likely due to the Lunar New Year holiday, while external demand weakened
further. Though, both benchmarks finished the month higher, up a second
consecutive month. Based on the front-month contracts, benchmark crude oil
futures climbed 6.4% for the month of February and Brent crude rose 6.7% for
the month. Benchmark crude oil futures for April gained 28 cents or 0.5 percent
to settle at $57.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However,
April Brent crude declined 36 cents or 0.5 percent to settle at $66.03 a barrel
on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Breaking
two-day downtrend, Indian rupee ended significantly higher against dollar on
Thursday, on persistent selling of the American currency by exporters. Trades
took encouragement with private report indicating that private equity (PE) investments
in India witnessed a 36% growth to $1,325 million despite fall in volume on
account of increased follow-on investments last month as compared to a year
ago. Some optimism also spread among the investors with a report that with inflation
likely to remain under 4% till October, the Reserve Bank may cut rates to the
tune of 75-100 basis points in the next financial year. The report also
includes the 25 basis points reduction in the February policy. Headline CPI
inflation is likely to remain below 4% until October and averages at 3.8% in
FY20. On the global front, dollar ended lower against its rivals on Thursday,
as the closely followed US-North Korea summit in Hanoi ended without an
agreement. Finally, the rupee ended at 70.72, 52 paise stronger from its
previous close of 71.24 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 5118.21 crore against gross selling of Rs 5533.96 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 922.51 crore with gross sales
of Rs 2187.71 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs
1.68 crore against gross selling of Rs 2.28 crore.
The US markets ended lower on
Thursday following data that showed US economic growth slowed in the fourth
quarter even as it topped expectations. Asian markets are trading mostly in red
on Friday as investors remained concerned about China's economy and global
trade. Indian markets extended their southward journey for third straight
session and ended marginally lower on Thursday after investors squared-off
positions as February derivative contracts expired amid concerns over tension
between India and Pakistan. Today, the markets are likely to make a negative
start of the new month amid weak global cues on growth concerns. Investors will
be eyeing manufacturing PMI data to be out later in the day. There will be
cautiousness with the Central Statistics Office's (CSO) data stating that
India's economic growth slowed to a 5-quarter low of 6.6% in October-December
period of this fiscal on the back of lower farm and manufacturing growth and
weaker consumer demand. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices
(2011-12) had grown at 7 per cent in October-December quarter of the previous
financial year. Traders will also be concerned about the government's data
showing that eight core industries grew at the slowest pace in 19 months in
January as the production of crude oil, refinery products and electricity
contracted. Also, there will be negative reaction on CARE Ratings' report that
FDI equity inflows fell for the first time in the past 5 years of Modi rule
during the first 9 months of FY19 in terms of annual growth rate. During
April-December period of the fiscal, the FDI equity inflows aggregated to
$33,492 million, nearly 7% lower than the inflows worth $35,914 million during
the corresponding period of FY18. Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved National
Mineral Policy 2019 which will lead to sustainable mining sector development in
future, while addressing the issues of project affected persons, especially
those residing in tribal areas. There will be some buzz in the banking stocks
as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured government funding support to public
sector banks and hoped that the 6 lenders which remain under the RBI's prompt
corrective action framework will soon come out of it. There may be some
reaction in auto stocks with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement that the
Union Cabinet has cleared Rs 10,000-crore programme under the FAME-II scheme,
with an eye on promoting electric and hybrid vehicles. Meanwhile, auto
companies to announce their monthly sales numbers today.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10,792.50
|
10,763.00
|
10,843.85
|
BSE Sensex
|
35,867.44
|
35,769.11
|
36,025.81
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close
(Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
IOC
|
666.81
|
144.60
|
141.83
|
147.08
|
ONGC
|
488.55
|
148.65
|
144.25
|
151.90
|
Yes Bank
|
457.54
|
231.15
|
227.72
|
233.67
|
ITC
|
432.09
|
276.05
|
274.43
|
277.48
|
NTPC
|
418.20
|
141.25
|
138.80
|
143.20
|
Infosys' subsidiary -- Infosys Foundation will help build a 300 bed hospital complex in the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Research.
Bharti Airtel will deploy Nokia's solution in over a dozen circles or service areas in northern and southern parts of the country to automate its data centre networks.
Tech Mahindra has entered into partnership with TBCASoft to promote the Cross-Carrier Blockchain Platform for telecom carriers.
Power Grid's subsidiary -- PSITSL has successfully commissioned 400kV Cuddapah-Madhugiri Transmission System, ahead of its schedule.