Wednesday turned out to be a
disappointing day of trade for Indian equity benchmarks, with frontline gauges
ending below their crucial 31,700 (Sensex) and 9,950 (Nifty) levels, as
tensions over North Korea's latest nuclear test showed few signs of abating and
continued to spook global investors. Markets started off on pessimistic note as
sentiments remained dampened with government saying that names of over 2.09
lakh firms have been struck off from register of companies for failing to
comply with regulatory requirements and action has been initiated to restrict
operations of their bank accounts. The Centre has also stepped up action
against such entities by bringing in restrictions on the operation of their
bank accounts by their existing directors and authorised representatives.
Besides, cracking the whip, SEBI barred 19 domestic and foreign entities from
securities markets for manipulation in issuances of global depository receipts
and warned several others including FIIs. However, markets trimmed some of
their initial losses in second half of the trade, as market participants took
some solace with the new Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu's
statement that the Ministry will soon bring out a policy framework for
facilitating access to global markets for the Indian agriculture produce. The
recovery proved short lived and was not able to take markets into green, as
investors took note of Economic Survey-II saying that demonetization has hurt the
informal economy and triggered a rush for distress labour under job guarantee
scheme (MGNREGA), though the wages available under the scheme may also have
helped contain rural unrest and a political backlash to some extent. Meanwhile,
private report said that economic activity in the country lost some pace amid
GST related disruptions but underlying growth momentum remains strong and the
country may clock 6.7 percent growth this fiscal. Finally, the BSE Sensex lost
147.58 points or 0.46% to 31,661.97, while the CNX Nifty was down by 36.00
points or 0.36% to 9,916.20.
The US markets closed slightly
higher on Wednesday, after congressional leaders and President Donald Trump
agreed to extend the debt limit deadline and fund the government through
mid-December. The gains on Wall Street came as investors grappled with
lingering concerns over North Korea, a potentially catastrophic Hurricane Irma,
doubts about President Donald Trump's business-friendly agenda, news that a key
Federal Reserve official is resigning, and persistent worries about elevated
stock valuations. Fischer's expected departure raises the question of whether
Chairwoman Janet Yellen continues on as the Fed's chief and how the central
bank will proceed with monetary policy as sluggish inflation has befuddled
policy makers so far. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's so-called Beige Book, a
collection of anecdotes about the economy gathered before the central bank
makes interest-rate decisions, said reports were mixed about auto production,
as sales have slowed. The US economy expanded at a modest to moderate pace in
July through mid-August but signs of an acceleration in inflation remained
slight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 54.33 points or 0.25 percent to
21,807.64, the Nasdaq gained 17.74 points or 0.28 percent to 6,393.31, and the
S&P 500 edged higher by 7.69 points or 0.31 percent to 2,465.54.
Crude oil futures extended their
gaining streak on Wednesday, amid expectations for demand for crude oil from
refineries in Texas as they get back normal operations after Hurricane Harvey.
Meanwhile the development of Storm Irma, which made landfall in the Caribbean
earlier on Wednesday, continued to garner investor attention, as the Category 5
storm could knock out other refineries and add to concerns over fuel shortages.
Prices also got some support with report that Russia and Saudi Arabia would be
open to extending their output cut agreement. Benchmark crude oil futures for
October delivery ended up by $0.50 or 1 percent to $49.16 on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for October delivery ended higher
by 1.54 percent at $54.20 a barrel on the ICE.
Indian
rupee recovering from the early losses ended slightly higher against the
American currency on Wednesday on the back of dollar sales by exporters and
bank. Sentiments got some support with the private report that economic
activity in the country lost some pace amid GST related disruptions but
underlying growth momentum remains strong and the country may clock 6.7 percent
growth this fiscal. The rupee sentiment was also aided by dollar's weakness
against other currencies. Though, the rupee's gains were restricted as the
domestic equities remained weak. On the global front, dollar slipped against
yen on Wednesday, pushing back towards last week's 4-1/2-month low on worries
over North Korea's nuclear ambitions and on comments from a Federal Reserve
official about subdued US inflation. Finally, the rupee ended at 64.10, 3 paise
stronger from its previous close of 64.13 on Tuesday.
The
FIIs as per Wednesday'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
2848.20 crore against gross selling of Rs 3074.56 crore, while in the debt
segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1598.63 crore with gross sales of Rs
1100.24 crore.
The US markets bounced back and
ended higher following the sell-off seen in the previous session on report that
President Donald Trump agreed to support a measure that would raise the debt
ceiling and fund the government for three months. The Asian markets have made
mostly a green start taking cues from the US markets and investors weighed a US
deal that ensures the funding of its government through mid-December against
persistent geopolitical tensions. The Japanese market too was higher, as yen
stayed lower after an overnight drop. The Indian markets despite showing some
signs of recovery ended lower by about half a percent in the last session on
weak global cues. Today, the start is likely to be in green on supportive cues
from the global markets, ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting,
scheduled for today. Traders will be getting some support with a private report
stating that economic activity in the country lost some pace amid GST related
disruptions but underlying growth momentum remains strong and the country may
clock 6.7 percent growth this fiscal. Meanwhile, in a bid to provide a
"major" thrust to job creation by enhancing India's exports, the NITI
Aayog has set up a task force to be headed by its Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar.
The task force will propose a comprehensive plan of action to generate
employment and alleviate under-employment in both goods and services sectors
and low wages by boosting India's exports in key labour-intensive industries.
Export oriented stocks will be in focus, as the Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu
has said his ministry is looking at certain measures to rev up country's
exports in a "shortest possible time" and will also strive to address the issues
facing exporters post GST. He added that exports to GDP (gross domestic
product) ratio of India has to improve substantially as the outbound shipments
have a great ability to generate economic activity.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
9916.20
|
9888.65
|
9937.65
|
BSE Sensex
|
31661.97
|
31589.72
|
31731.04
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
ITC
|
141.65
|
275.70
|
273.63
|
279.38
|
Bank of Baroda
|
112.93
|
138.35
|
136.73
|
139.63
|
Reliance Industries
|
111.43
|
1645.40
|
1627.97
|
1657.67
|
Hindalco
|
96.88
|
245.80
|
238.97
|
249.67
|
Sun Pharma
|
73.44
|
474.25
|
469.18
|
483.13
|
NTPC has initiated action for sale of equity shares to the eligible employees by the Government of India.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has launched Metaxalone Tablets, USP 800 mg, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Skelaxin Tablets, approved by the USFDA.
HDFC will raise Rs 2,000 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis to augment its long-term capital.
Reliance Industries will acquire Kemrock Industries & Exports of Vadodara (Gujarat).