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NSE Intra-day chart (20 December 2017)
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Market Commentary 21 December 2017
Markets to make a soft start on sluggish global cues


Snapping four days gaining streak, Indian equity benchmarks ended the choppy day of trade slightly in red, as traders opted to book profit near all time high levels. After making cautious start, markets gained some traction and entered into green terrain to trade above neutral lines for most part of the day with traders getting some support from Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu's statement that the government is working on a strategy to boost share of services in total exports from the country. He said ‘In my opinion services should be one of the most critical drivers of the growing economy and must be brought to the forefront'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's electoral victories in key states continued to lend support to the markets, but focus has now shifted to Budget and macros.  However, sharp selling in last leg of trade played spoil sports for the local bourses and dragged them back into red terrain. Sentiments turned down-beat after Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in its latest quarterly survey has said that manufacturing sector outlook is slightly less optimistic in third quarter of the current fiscal year (Q3). It reported that overall the capacity utilization in manufacturing remains low. The average capacity utilization for the manufacturing sector is about 75% for Q-2 2017-18 as reported in the survey which is similar to that of Q-1 2017-18. Meanwhile, some caution set in ahead of the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting earlier this month in which the policy rate was kept unchanged. Finally, the BSE Sensex shed 59.36 points or 0.18% to 33,777.38, while the CNX Nifty was down by 19.00 points or 0.18% to 10,444.20.

 

The US markets closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 retreating from record levels for a second session, as congressional Republicans sent tax-cut legislation to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives gave final approval to the biggest overhaul of the US tax code in 30 years, sending a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax bill to President Donald Trump for his signature. In sealing Trump's first major legislative victory, Republicans steamrolled opposition from Democrats to pass a bill that slashes taxes for corporations and the wealthy while giving mixed, temporary tax relief to middle-class Americans. The House approved the measure by 224-201, passing it for the second time in two days after a procedural foul-up forced another vote. The Republican-led Senate had passed it 51-48 in the early hours of Wednesday. On the economy front, existing-home sales rose to a 5.81 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in November. Sales of previously-owned homes surged 5.6% to an annual 5.81 million pace in November, the third month of increases and the strongest since December 2006. Sales were 3.8% higher compared to November a year ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 28.1 points or 0.11 percent to 24,726.65, the Nasdaq dropped 2.892 points or 0.04 percent to 6,960.96, and the S&P 500 edged lower by 2.22 points or 0.08 percent to 2,679.25.

 

Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday, extending their gain after data showed crude stockpiles fell for the fifth straight week, while the ongoing North Sea Forties pipeline outage continued to support sentiment. The Energy Information Administration said crude inventories fell by 6.5 million barrels (bbl) in the week to Dec. 15. Gasoline inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels, while supplies of distillate fell by 769,000 barrels. Benchmark crude oil futures for January delivery ended higher by $0.53 or 0.89 percent at $58.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for February delivery was up by 1.02 percent to $65.45 a barrel on the ICE.

 

 

Indian rupee depreciated against the US dollar on Wednesday, hurt by fresh demand for the American currency from importers. Sentiments remained down-beat with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (FICCI's) latest quarterly survey indicating that manufacturing sector outlook is slightly less optimistic in third quarter of the current fiscal year (Q3), pointing to factors like rupee appreciation, subdued demands along with issues related to GST regime. Some cautiousness also crept in ahead of the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting earlier this month in which the policy rate was kept unchanged. Besides, poor performance of the domestic equity market, too affected the rupee. On the global front, dollar rose against yen on Wednesday, after the US Senate passed a tax reform bill which would slash income taxes for corporates and individuals while widening US budget deficit and income inequality. Finally, the rupee ended at 64.11, 8 paise weaker from its previous close of 64.03 on Tuesday.

 

The FIIs as per Wednesday's data were net sellers in equity and debt segments both. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 7152.33 crore against gross selling of Rs 8428.53 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1092.56 crore with gross sales of Rs 1870.86 crore.

 

The US markets continued their consolidation mood and ended modestly lower in last session, failing to sustain an initial upward move on news that Republican lawmakers managed to send a sweeping tax reform bill to President Donald Trump's desk. The House voted 224 to 201 in favor of the bill known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with the vote coming down largely along party lines. The Asian markets have made a mixed start after U.S. equities dipped in the wake of congressional passage of U.S. tax cuts, which was already priced in. The Indian markets after completely losing their momentum in the final hours ended marginally in the red in the last session. Today, the start is likely to remain cautious and bourses will extend their consolidation mood. Traders will be concerned with the details of the minutes of the MPC meeting held on December 5 and 6 released by the RBI, where RBI Governor Urjit Patel flagged concerns over rising global oil prices and uncertainties on fiscal and external fronts. Two other members in the panel, Deputy Governor Viral Acharya and Executive Director Michael Debabrata Patra, flagged the issue of inflation in petroleum products. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet approved the Consumer Protection Bill, 2017, paving the way for its introduction in Parliament. Once approved by Parliament, the new law will replace the current Consumer Protection Act, 1986. There will be some buzz in the textile stocks, as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS). The scheme will be applicable from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 with an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore.

 

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

 

Index

Previous close

Support

Resistance

NSE Nifty

10444.20

10422.75

10480.05

BSE Sensex

33777.38

33702.78

33904.15

 

Nifty Top volumes

 

Stock

Volume

(in Lacs)

Previous close (Rs)

Support  (Rs)

Resistance (Rs)

Hindalco

155.19

258.35

252.70

262.50

ICICI Bank

140.04

315.80

312.25

318.60

Tata Motors

111.91

422.60

418.65

427.15

SBI

98.96

317.50

316.33

318.83

ONGC

88.77

188.00

186.63

190.23

 

  • Tata Steel has received an approval for next phase of expansion of capacity in Kalinganagar by 5 MTPA from 3 MTPA to 8 MTPA.
  • Coal India has received an approval for introduction of Evacuation Facility Charges at Rs 50 per tonne for despatch of coal on all despatches except despatch through rapid loading arrangement.
  • Tata Motors' mini-truck with 65% market share 'Ace' has crossed the 2-million-milestone since its launch 12 years ago.
  • Yes Bank has joined hands with European Investment Bank, a long-term lending institution of the European Union, for a $400 million fund for renewable energy projects in India over 15 years.
News Analysis