Friday's trading session was of
consolidation as the Indian frontline indices appeared a bit fatigued and
remained in directionless trajectory for most part of the day. Nevertheless,
the benchmarks managed to extend the winning momentum for the fourth
consecutive day of trade, as local sentiments continued to show signs of
improvement. Markets got some support with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
statement that India is set to take a quantum leap in infrastructure and the
government is committed to strengthening it. The Prime Minister has unveiled an
ambitious Rs 50,800 crore Setu Bharatam project, under which a total of 208
railway crossings will be replaced by rail over bridges (ROBs). As part of the
project, 1,500 bridges of the British era will be overhauled at an estimated
expenditure of Rs 30,000 crore. Investors also got some comfort with the report
that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 911.98
crore on March 03, 2016. Besides, firm global cues coupled with the
appreciation in rupee value against the dollar added to the optimistic
sentiments. Staying on the upward trajectory for the sixth straight day, Indian
rupee gained another 13 paise to trade at 67.21 against the US dollar at the
time of equity markets closing. Some support also came with Minister of State
for Finance Jayant Sinha's statement that the government has a ‘very good
sense' of the problem of bad loans in banking sector and will continue to
provide funds to strengthen state-owned banks. However, investors remained
cautious with weak services PMI data released last day. Growth in India's
services firms fell to a three-month low of 51.4 in February from 54.3 in
January, as output rose only marginally. On the global front, Asian stock
markets ended mostly in green on Friday, while European shares made a firm
start. Back home, after getting strong start, Indian equity benchmarks dropped
into the negative territory, lacking any significant upside cues and slipped to
intraday lows in mid morning session. However, the psychological 7,450 and
24,550 levels proved as strong support levels for the key gauges as the
benchmarks soon recovered from the lows. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 39.49
points or 0.16% to 24646.48, while the CNX Nifty rose 9.75 points or 0.13% to
7,485.35. Indian markets remained closed on Monday on account of Mahashivratri.
The US markets closed mostly
higher on Monday, allowing the S&P 500 and Dow industrials to extend their
winning streak to five straight sessions, partly due to a jump in oil prices.
But the Nasdaq Composite finished lower, weighed by losses in formerly
highflying technology stocks. On the economy front, consumer credit growth
decelerated sharply in January as consumers cut back on credit card use.
Overall consumer credit increased 3.6% in January, or by a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of $10.5 billion. This is the smallest percentage increase since
March 2013. It's also a sharp deceleration from December's 7.3%, or $21.4 billion,
gain. The slowdown brought consumer credit below expectations. Total consumer
borrowing, which does not include mortgage debt, now totals $3.5 trillion.
Credit card borrowing declined 1.4% in January following gains averaging 7.5%
over the past two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 67.18 points
or 0.40 percent to 17,073.95, the S&P 500 gained 1.77 points or 0.09
percent to 2,001.76 while, the Nasdaq was down 8.77 points or 0.19 percent to
4,708.25.
Crude oil futures extending their
gains surged on Monday on a report that OPEC producers are crafting a strategy
to stabilize the price of oil at $50 a barrel. Prices also got support with the
Energy Information Administration (EIA) report which sees U.S. shale oil output
falling by 106,000 barrels a day in April, helping to fuel oil's advance.
Meanwhile, production in Russia and Saudi Arabia remains near-record monthly
highs above 10 million bpd. Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery surged
by $1.99 or 5.54 percent to $37.91 a barrel after trading in a range of $36.09
and $38.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude
for May delivery closed at $40.80, up by $2.09 or 5.38 percent on the ICE.
Continuing its upward trajectory
for the sixth straight day, Indian rupee ended stronger against dollar on
Friday due to selling of the greenback by banks and exporters. Rupee headed for
its biggest weekly gain since May 2014 as foreign funds pumped money into local
stocks amid a revival in global sentiment for equities. Some support came with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that India is set to take a quantum
leap in infrastructure and the government is committed to strengthening it.
However, dollar's strength against other currencies limited the gains. Money market
will remain closed on Monday on account of Mahashivratri. On the global front,
yen saw some initial strength on Friday after BOJ Gov Kuroda rules out the
chance of another rate cut in March. Finally, the rupee ended at 67.09, 24
paise stronger from its previous close of 67.33 on Thursday. Indian money
markets remained closed on Monday on account of Mahashivratri.
The FIIs as per Friday's data
were net buyers in equity segment, while they were net sellers in debt segment.
In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 4366.69 crore against gross selling
of Rs 3257.32 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1073.98
crore with gross sales of Rs 1211.92 crore.
The US markets extended their
gaining streak with the help of surge in energy stocks and the Dow rose for a
fifth consecutive session. The Asian markets have made mostly a weak start led
by the Chinese market which has tumbled over two percent ahead of the release
of trade data that may show a deepening slump in the nation's trade. Also, the
Chinese foreign-exchange reserves fell by $28.6 billion to $3.2 trillion last
month. The Indian markets before going for a long weekend continued their
gaining streak albeit modestly on Friday. Today, the start is likely to be cautious
tailing the somber global cues. There will be some concern with the MNI
Consumer Sentiment index falling to 108.9 in February from 109.8 in January,
indicating sluggish sentiment among end consumer as they grapple with volatile
markets and deteriorating personal finances. However, the markets may get some
support with international rating agency Fitch maintaining India's growth
forecast at 7.5 percent for the financial year 2015-16 and projecting the GDP
growth of 7.7 per cent in the FY2017, which is 0.3 per cent lower than its
December forecast of 8 per cent, but much in line with the government's
projection. The agency also sees RBI cutting key policy rates by 25 basis
points and brushes off concerns over global recession. There will be some buzz
in the steel stocks on report that domestic steel output fell despite rise in
consumption. Domestic steel consumption grew by 4.3% during the April-February
period of the current financial year, while production of domestic industry
fell by 1.9%. Mining and mineral stocks too may see some action, as the Cabinet
is likely to consider mines ministry's proposal to allow auction of 100 mineral
blocks for exploration as early as this week.
Support
and Resistance: NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
CNX Nifty
|
7485.35
|
7451.00
|
7512.80
|
BSE Sensex
|
24646.48
|
24545.84
|
24733.09
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close
(Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
SBI
|
388.61
|
188.40
|
181.32
|
192.67
|
Vedanta
|
293.71
|
87.40
|
83.75
|
90.60
|
ICICI Bank
|
222.67
|
220.50
|
218.23
|
223.58
|
PNB
|
206.05
|
83.00
|
78.85
|
85.80
|
Power Grid
|
164.41
|
138.65
|
136.35
|
140.05
|
Bharat Heavy Electricals has achieved a significant milestone by successfully commissioning its first 700 MW supercritical thermal unit at Bellary Thermal Power Project in Karnataka.
Tata Power has inaugurated its third Tata Power Skill Development Institute, a Centre for Excellence for Power Plant Skills, in Maithon, Jharkhand.
Yes Bank, India's fifth largest private sector bank, has launched its first Currency Chest and Small Coin Depot in Mumbai on March 03, 2016.
Tata Steel, in association with Tata Digital Health, has launched an initiative to digitise and transform healthcare at Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur.
Asian Paints has restarted operations at the company's paint Plant situated at Rohtak in the state of Haryana.