Bulls which woke up in last leg
of trade mainly helped benchmarks to end near intraday highs on the F&O
series expiry day, recapturing their crucial 31,700 (Sensex) and 9,900 (Nifty)
levels. Though, markets made a cautious start and extended their fall, as
traders remained on sidelines ahead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures to
be announced later in the day. Investors also remained concerned with
assessment of RBI in its annual report that fiscal consolidation may come under
threat at the central and state levels due to the immediate effects of the
goods and service tax (GST), loan waivers and pay revisions, putting pressure
on the overall growth matrix. However, markets took U-turn and showed strength
to enter into green terrain in afternoon deals with traders taking some
encouragement with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement that the GST is
bound to impact the direct tax collection as well due to the increased
detection technology and greater compliance. The Finance Minister also said
that even before GST was rolled out, the impact of demonetisation has expanded
the number of assessees under the personal income tax. Markets extended gains
in last leg of trade to end near high point of the day, as some support came
with Moody's Investors Service's statement that in the near term, the economy
will continue to recover from the temporary liquidity shock from
demonetization, while adjusting to the new GST. Moody's further said that
though the indicators like net new nonperforming loan (NPL) formation and
problem loan ratios suggest a bottoming of the credit cycle, deteriorating
asset quality in agriculture, and micro, small- and medium-sized enterprise
(MSME) portfolios pose risks. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 84.03 points or
0.27% to 31,730.49, while the CNX Nifty was up by 33.50 points or 0.34% to
9,917.90.
The US markets closed higher on
Thursday, with the main indexes posting their fifth consecutive monthly gain. A
pair of economic reports that highlighted continued improvement in the economy
also boosted sentiment on Wall Street. The Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDP Now
forecast model showed that the US economy is on track to grow at a 3.3 percent
annualized pace in the third quarter based on the latest data on expected lower
contribution from exports and inventory investments. The latest third-quarter
gross domestic product estimate was weaker than the one for a 3.4 percent
growth rate calculated on August 25. On the economy front, the number of people
who applied for unemployment benefits in late August remained close to a
post-recession low, pointing to another solid monthly employment report near
the end of summer. Initial jobless claims in the period running from August 20
to August 26 rose by 1,000 to 236,000. New claims count people who apply for
unemployment benefits after losing their jobs. The average of new claims over
the past month, which gives a more stable picture of layoff trends, fell by
1,250 to 236,750. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 55.67 points or 0.25
percent to 21,948.10, the Nasdaq gained 60.35 points or 0.95 percent to
6,428.66, and the S&P 500 edged higher by 14.06 points or 0.57 percent to
2,471.65.
Crude oil futures bounced back
from its recent lows on Thursday, after the U.S. Energy Department's release of
1 million barrels a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The move was made
in the wake of Hurricane Harvey which has disrupted refinery operations on the
Texas coast. Though, the gasoline futures remained sharply higher, as markets
continued to weigh the impact of Tropical Storm Harvey on supply and demand and
ahead of the Labor Day weekend that typically brings a surge in driving. Benchmark
crude oil futures for October delivery ended up by 1.4 percent to $46.58 on the
New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for October delivery ended
up by 1.1 percent at $51.44 a barrel on the ICE.
Indian
rupee strengthened for second consecutive session on Thursday, on dollar
selling by exporters and banks, and last hour recovery in local equity markets
also influenced the rupee sentiment. Some support also came with global rating
agency Moody's latest report that its outlook for the Indian banking system is
stable on improved prospects for asset quality. However, gains were capped as
traders remained cautious ahead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures to be
announced later in the day. On the global front, US dollar advanced against
euro and yen after strong US growth data fuelled speculations that the Federal
Reserve could consider hiking interest rate for a third time this year.
Finally, the rupee ended at 63.91, 10 paise stronger from its previous close of
64.01 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 4222.48 crore against gross selling of Rs 4124.26 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 831.57 crore with gross sales
of Rs 121.64 crore.
The US markets moved further high
in the last session with the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching a new record closing
high, following the release of a slew of U.S. economic data, including a
Commerce Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in personal
income. The Asian markets have mostly made a positive start, though there is
sense of cautiousness ahead of the US jobs data to take clues on the Federal
Reserve's policy-tightening path. The
Indian equity market extended gains for a second straight session supported by
short covering on derivatives expiry. Today, the start is likely to be a bit
soft-to-cautious with India's s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the
first quarter of the fiscal coming in at a dismal 5.70 per cent against 7.90
per cent in the same quarter last year and a 13 quarter lowest level. According
to data released by the government, quarterly GVA at basic prices for Q1FY18
from manufacturing sector grew by 1.2 per cent as compared to the growth of
10.7 per cent in Q1FY17. Moreover, industrial growth came in at around 1.60 per
cent in Q1FY18 against 7.40 per cent in Q1FY17. In a double whammy, the growth
of eight core sectors also slowed down to 2.4 per cent in July. The contraction
was mainly seen in output of crude oil, refinery products, fertiliser and
cement. However, traders may get some support with Finance Minster Arun Jaitley
attributing the lower GDP numbers to pre-GST destocking of goods and expressed
hope that the economy will grow at 7 percent, saying manufacturing has bottomed
out. There will be buzz in the telecom sector stocks, as a government panel has
refused to ease spectrum cap rules, which believes extending the fee-payment
tenure for auctioned airwaves and lowering interest rates payable on dues will
be enough to help restore the heavily indebted industry's financial health. The
inter-ministerial group (IMG) on the telecommunications industry has also
rejected other big-ticket demands such as lowering the annual licence fee and
spectrum usage charges (SUC). There will be some action in PSU oil marketing
companies too, as the domestic cooking gas prices in the country were hiked by
14 per cent from midnight.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE
(Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
9917.90
|
9874.87
|
9943.02
|
BSE Sensex
|
31730.49
|
31602.50
|
31807.83
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
NTPC
|
833.50
|
168.75
|
165.27
|
170.72
|
Hindalco
|
232.01
|
238.00
|
235.58
|
239.93
|
ONGC
|
167.16
|
156.95
|
155.12
|
159.72
|
Vedanta
|
149.88
|
308.90
|
303.20
|
312.30
|
ICICI Bank
|
148.65
|
298.05
|
296.40
|
300.30
|
NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs 3,000 crore with ICICI Bank.
Wipro has received its shareholders' approval for its Rs 11,000-crore buyback proposal.
Lupin has launched Lanthanum Carbonate Chewable Tablets 500 mg (base), 750 mg (base), and 1000 mg (base).
Induslnd Bank has partnered with SunTec Business Solutions to facilitate in computing and invoicing of Debit Tax and Credit Tax.