Extending northward journey for
second straight session, Indian equity benchmarks once again hit all time high
levels, with Nifty and Sensex ending just shy of their crucial 10,700 and
34,600 levels, respectively. Markets traded mostly in green during the session
though some hiccups witnessed in noon deals but it proved short-lived and key
gauges managed to end the session comfortably near their all time high levels.
Markets started the day on an optimistic note, as traders remained hopeful
ahead of Infosys earnings later today and budget next month. Investors also
took some encouragement with Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar's statement
that economy is expected to clock growth of 7.5% in 2018. He further noted that
as the economy picks up, employment will pick up. Sentiments also remained
positive with US-India Strategic Partnership Forum's (USISPF) report that
India's decision to relax FDI norms in various sectors would make it a much
more attractive destination for overseas investors. Some support also came with
Farm Minister Radha Mohan Singh's statement that India's agriculture sector
will expand more than 4% in 2017-18, trying to allay concerns raised by the
statistical office's projection of sluggish growth in one of the most important
segments of the economy. However, sharp sell-off witnessed in noon deals and
markets entered into red terrain, as anxiety spread among the traders ahead of
key economic data - industrial production (IIP) numbers for November and retail
inflation for December - to be released later in the day. some concerns also
came with India Ratings and Research's latest report that private sector
capital expenditure growth is expected to remain muted with slowing pace, for
next two financial years on account of weak domestic consumption demand, global
overcapacity and negative impact of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on working
capital. Markets showed splendid recovery in last leg of trade and settled near
fresh all time high levels as traders took some support from private report
that economic indicators like PMIs, vehicle sales and steel demand suggest that
growth momentum in India has gathered pace in December. Finally, the BSE Sensex
gained 88.90 points or 0.26% to 34,592.39, while the CNX Nifty was up by 30.05
points or 0.28% to 10,681.25.
Friday turned out to be a
fabulous day of trade for the US equity markets, with Wall Street ending the
session near record closing levels, as traders remained optimistic about the
earnings season after financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM), BlackRock (BLK)
and Wells Fargo (WFC) all reported better than expected quarterly results.
Sentiments also remained up-beat with Commerce Department showing retail sales
coming in line with street estimates in the month of December. The Commerce
Department said retail sales increased by 0.4 percent in December after
climbing by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in November. The street had
expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.8 percent increase
originally reported for the previous month. Excluding auto sales, retail sales
still rose by 0.4 percent in December after jumping by 1.3 percent in November.
The increase in ex-auto sales also matched estimates. Separately, a report from
the Labor Department showed consumer prices rose by less than expected in
December, reflecting a sharp pullback in energy prices. The Labor Department
said its consumer price index inched up by 0.1 percent in December after
climbing by 0.4 in November. Economists had expected prices to rise by 0.2
percent. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average surged 228.46 points or 0.89 percent to 25,803.19, the Nasdaq gained
49.29 points or 0.68 percent to 7,261.06, and the S&P 500 was up by 18.68
points or 0.67 percent to 2,786.24.
Crude oil futures extended their
gains on Friday, , ending the week at the highest level in more than three
years. Traders even overlooked the report of rise in rig counts ongoing optimism
that OPEC-led output cuts would continue to drain the market of excess
supplies. Oil Services firm Baker Hughes said U.S. energy companies added 10
oil rigs this week, the biggest increase since June, in response the rally in
oil prices, it was the first weekly rise in five weeks. Benchmark crude oil futures
for February delivery ended higher by $0.54 or 0.8 percent at $64.30 a barrel
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery was up by 0.56
cents to $69.92 a barrel on the ICE.
Indian
rupee trimmed some of its early gains but still managed to end higher against
the American currency on Friday, on continued dollar selling by banks and
exporters. Sentiments remained positive with Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv
Kumar's statement that economy is expected to clock growth of 7.5 percent in
2018. He further noted that as the economy picks up, employment will pick up.
Besides, a weak dollar against some currencies overseas also supported the gain
in rupee. However, gains were capped as anxiety spread among the traders ahead
of key economic data - industrial production (IIP) numbers for November and
retail inflation for December - to be released later in the day. On the global
front, euro continued its ascent against US dollar on Friday, after the minutes
of the European Central Bank's December meeting, released on Thursday, were
viewed by the market as ‘hawkish', sending the euro sharply higher and back
above $1.20. Finally, the rupee ended at 63.62, 4 paise stronger from its
previous close of 63.66 on Thursday.
The
FIIs as per Friday'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
5017.58 crore against gross selling of Rs 5541.05 crore, while in the debt
segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1365.55 crore with gross sales of Rs
340.61 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, there was no buying against gross
selling of Rs 1.42 crore.
The US markets extended their
gains and ended higher in the last session with major averages once again
climbing to new record closing highs on optimism about the earnings season
after some financial giants reported better than expected quarterly results.
The Asian markets have made a green start with some indices heading for a fresh
record high amid optimism in global growth; Japanese shares too were rising
even after appreciation in the yen the past week. The Indian markets despite
modest gains hit fresh record highs in the last session ahead of some key macro
data. Today, the start of the new week is likely to be in green and traders
will be reacting positively to the IIP numbers, as an exponential rise in the
manufacturing output lifted India's total factory production by over 8 percent
in November from 1.99 percent in October and 5.1 percent during the
corresponding period of 2016-17. On a year-on-year basis, the manufacturing
sector expanded by 10.2 percent, whereas mining`s output inched-up by 1.1
percent and the sub-index of electricity generation increased by 3.9 percent.
Though, there will be some cautiousness too and the rate sensitive sectors will
be under pressure, as India`s annual retail inflation accelerated in December
to a 17-month high of 5.21 percent, mainly driven by faster rises in prices of
food and fuel products. The IT pack will be in limelight, reacting to the global
software major Infosys numbers, which reported consolidated net profit of Rs
5,129 crore for the third quarter of fiscal 2017-18, registering 38.3 percent
record annual growth from Rs 3,708 crore in the like period a year ago. There
will be some buzz in the logistics stocks, as GST Network has said that from
February 1, transporters will not need separate transit passes for moving goods
from one state to another as the e-way bill issued to them will be valid
throughout India. The new system enables generation of e-Way bill on the
portal, through mobile App, through SMS and for large users using offline tool.
There will be lots of earnings too, to keep the markets in action.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10681.25
|
10622.10
|
10715.40
|
BSE Sensex
|
34592.39
|
34410.23
|
34706.49
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
SBI
|
175.94
|
302.25
|
300.32
|
304.42
|
ICICI Bank
|
116.99
|
317.70
|
311.93
|
321.13
|
ONGC
|
92.91
|
200.75
|
198.28
|
202.58
|
ZEEL
|
91.77
|
591.00
|
580.95
|
599.75
|
Infosys
|
90.08
|
1078.45
|
1070.70
|
1086.05
|
TCS has entered into an agreement with Transamerica to enable the transformation of administration of its US insurance and annuity business lines.
IOC has purchased its third shipload or cargo of US crude oil as it looks at cheaper alternatives that have emerged due to the global supply glut.
Bharti Airtel and Amazon India have come together to ring in an entertaining and exciting new year for customers.
Reliance Industries' telecom arm - Jio has added 6.11 million subscribers in November.