Tremors of earthquake of 5.8
magnitude, which hit Uttarakhand on Tuesday, was felt on Indian stocks market
too, as the frontline benchmark indices slipped over quarter percent with
investors remaining on the sidelines and refraining from any buying activity
ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) bi-monthly monetary policy committee
meeting on Wednesday. RBI, in its sixth bi-monthly policy statement for the
year, may have to delay the repo rate cut until a better picture emerges out of
the remonetisation exercise. Sentiments remained downbeat on report that
foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 403.52 crore on
February 6, 2017. Besides, weakness in other Asian markets coupled with depreciation
in rupee value against the dollar also spoiled sentiments. After rising for
nine straight days, the rupee turned weak by 15 paise to 67.37 against the
dollar on Tuesday on fresh demand for the American currency from importers.
However, losses remained capped with commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman's statement that disbanding FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion
Board) will further improve ease of doing business and the respective
regulators of the ministries concerned are ‘sufficient' to take care of
investment proposals. The decision, the minister said, is in line with the
government's policy for 'maximum governance and minimum government'. Some
support also came with the report that the Centre is looking at developing
economic corridors and planning to come up with logistic parks on national
highways. Meanwhile, some steel stocks
came under pressure on report that the government would not extend
protectionist minimum import price (MIP) on 19 colour-coated steel products. On
the global front, Asian markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday as political and
economic uncertainty sent investors sheltering in the Japanese yen and gold,
while expectations China's foreign exchange reserves had fallen for a seventh
month added to nervousness. Back home, finally, the BSE Sensex declined 104.12
points or 0.37% to 28335.16, while the CNX Nifty was down by 32.75 points or
0.37% to 8,768.30.
The US markets closed slightly
higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq notching a new record, while oil prices
declined the US trade deficit hit its highest level in four years. The Federal
Reserve (Fed) Bank of Atlanta slashed its forecast for first quarter (Q1) gross
domestic product (GDP) growth in the US after the release of data last week.
Specifically, the Atlanta Fed cut its US Q1 GDP growth estimate to 2.7%, from
the prior forecast of 3.7% published on February 1. On the economy front, job
openings were little changed in December, but hires continued a multi-month
winning streak, as economic growth powers on. There were 5.5 million job
openings on the last day of December. That was essentially flat compared to
November. But 5.3 million people were hired during the month, up from 5.2
million in November. Fewer people quit jobs voluntarily in December - 3 million
compared to 3.1 million in November. Consumer borrowing rose $14.2 billion in December,
below expectations, as credit-card use increased at a much slower pace that in
the prior month. Separately, the US trade deficit rose slightly in 2016 to
$502.3 billion, marking the highest level in four years and underscoring the
difficulty the Trump administration faces in bringing the nation's trade outlook
back into balance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 37.87 points or 0.19
percent to 20,090.29, Nasdaq was up 10.67 points or 0.19 percent to 5,674.22,
while S&P 500 gained 0.52 points or 0.02 percent to 2,293.08.
Crude oil futures slumped on
Tuesday, slipping to their 3 week low, amid signs that robust U.S. shale
production will help offset OPEC's supply cuts. Evidence of a burgeoning
revival in US shale production could complicate efforts by OPEC and other
producers to reduce a supply glut. Traders were eyeing the inventory data with
expectation that US crude stockpiles rose 2.5 million barrels last week - a
fifth straight weekly build - while gasoline inventories grew 1.1 million
barrels - a sixth consecutive weekly build. Benchmark crude oil futures for March
delivery declined by $0.84 or 1.6 percent to $52.17 on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. In London, Brent crude for March delivery ended lower by 0.67 or 1.2 percent
at $55.05 on the ICE.
Indian
rupee, snapping nine consecutive sessions winning streak, depreciated on
Tuesday due to dollar demand from banks and importers amid continued capital
outflows. Sentiments remained dampened with Commerce Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman's statement that the proposed changes in the regime for issuing H-1B
visas for skilled workers by the US government will have an impact on Indian
companies and the Commerce Ministry will soon hold a meeting with the industry
to discuss its strategy for dealing with it. Besides, losses in the equity
markets along with dollar strengthens overseas too weighed on rupee sentiments.
Meanwhile, traders remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI)
bi-monthly monetary policy committee meeting on Wednesday. On the global front,
dollar shot higher against other major currencies on Tuesday, helped by hawkish
comments from a Federal Reserve official who emphasized a March rate hike is
possible. Finally, the rupee ended at 67.42, 20 paise weaker from its previous
close of 67.22 on Monday.
The
FIIs as per Tuesday's data were net sellers in equity segment, while they were
net buyers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs
4126.79 crore against gross selling of Rs 4569.23 crore, while in the debt
segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 3388.81 crore with gross sales of Rs
1077.49 crore.
The US markets made a modestly
higher close in last session despite coming well off their best levels of the day, the
Nasdaq still reached a new record closing high in a positive reaction to the
batch of largely upbeat quarterly results. The Asian markets have made a weak
start with some indices witnessing cut of around half a percent in the early
deals. The Japanese market too was trading lower after the yen reversed an
early decline after the nation's central bank offered to buy bonds for the
third time in a week. The Indian markets climbed down from their four months
high in the last session ahead of the RBI's policy decision and on
uncertainties over the timing of Federal Reserve rate hike in US. Today, the
start of the crucial day is likely to be cautious and all eyes will be on
Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy statement, slated to be announced later
in the day. The central bank is expected to cut repo rate by 25 basis points on
falling inflation and the government's fiscal prudence in Budget. Marketmen will
also be getting some support with a private report stating that the global
economic order is expected to shift from advanced to emerging economies over
the next few decades, and by 2040 India could edge past the US to become the
world's second largest economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. There
will be buzz in the India Inc on a report that concerns about protectionism in
the US and Brexit in Europe are likely to make India a favourable destination
for merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. There will be some action in PSU
oil marketing companies, as global tumbled more than 1 per cent on Tuesday.
There will be lots of important earnings announcements to keep the markets
buzzing.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
8768.30
|
8736.47
|
8804.72
|
BSE Sensex
|
28335.16
|
28221.72
|
28466.01
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
BHEL
|
450.93
|
152.10
|
143.27
|
157.97
|
ITC
|
243.15
|
277.10
|
271.08
|
287.63
|
IDEA
|
163.96
|
107.35
|
106.23
|
108.93
|
ICICI Bank
|
116.63
|
288.10
|
284.70
|
292.10
|
SBI
|
109.82
|
277.90
|
276.13
|
279.83
|
Axis Bank has entered into partnership pact with Earthport Plc to enable faster outbound cross-border payments for its customers through Earthport's state-of-the-art global payments network.
Bajaj Auto has launched its BS-IV emission norm compliant 2017 edition of Pulsar RS200 and NS200 models priced up to Rs 1.33 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
Bharat Heavy Electricals has reported net profit of Rs 93.54 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 as compared to net loss of Rs 1084.96 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.
HDFC Bank has sanctioned and disbursed various credit facilities aggregating to Rs 67.88 crore to CMI Energy India, the wholly owned subsidiary of CMI.
Tata Steel has reported consolidated net profit of Rs 231.90 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 as compared to net loss of Rs 2747.72 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.