Indian equity benchmarks pared
most of their morning losses to end largely flat on Wednesday. Markets started
the session on pessimistic note with report that the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) is unlikely to reduce key policy rates in 2018 despite a dip in retail
inflation in February. Risks like the higher minimum support prices (MSPs) for
food grains promised in the budget can push up the inflation in the next fiscal
year. Terming it as a challenging period for the central rate setting panel,
the report highlighted that the rising MSPs are a risk and once inflation
starts rising from the second quarter, the apex bank would turn more hawkish.
Investors also took note of a private report stating that based on the current
monthly rate of Rs 87,400 crore, the street expects that the Goods and Services
Tax (GST) collection may remain range-bound unless compliance measures improve,
particularly invoice matching. The lower GST run rate poses a risk to FY19 tax
collection and to fiscal deficit. Selling got extended and markets even went to
test psychological 10,350 (Nifty) and 33,600 (Sensex) levels. But, key gauges
witnessed recovery from thereon and pared most of their initial losses to end
largely unchanged, supported by easing WPI inflation. India's inflation on
wholesale level softened in the month of February, continuing its easing trend
for the third straight month. According to the latest data released by the
government, WPI stood at 2.48% (provisional) in February as against 2.84%
(provisional) for the previous month and 5.51% during the corresponding month
of the previous year. Some support also came with report highlighting that
revival in rural demand, increased infrastructure spending is likely to drive
India's growth in current year, even as increasing debt and trade protectionism
could pose a challenge. Traders also took some solace with Commerce and
Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu's statement that the new industrial policy,
which will be released soon, will focus on modernising existing industries,
besides pushing for frontier technologies like robotics and artificial
intelligence. Finally, the BSE Sensex shed 21.04 points or 0.06% to 33,835.74,
while the CNX Nifty was down by 15.95 points or 0.15% to 10,410.90.
The US markets closed lower on
Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow industrials closing down for a third
session as fears of a potential trade war resurfaced after President Donald
Trump announced that his administration will seek to trim the US's trade
deficit with China by $100 billion via tariffs. In addition, Larry Kudlow, the
incoming director of the White House national economic council, said that China
has earned a tough response from the United States and other countries on
trade, even though he has previously criticized blanket tariffs. On the economy
front, sales at US retailers fell in February for the third month in a row -
the first time that's happened since 2012 - but the declines were small and
unlikely a sign of trouble for the broader economy. The monthly decline was
0.1%. Sales rose 0.3% last month if autos and gas are stripped out, however.
The decline in retail sales last month was largely concentrated in auto
dealers, gas stations and traditional department stores. Sales at auto dealers
fell 0.9% for the second month in a row as a post-hurricane spurt in the fall
faded away. Separately, US wholesale prices rose a mild 0.2% in February, the
latest sign that inflation has throttled back after flaring up in early 2018.
The 12-month rate of wholesale inflation edged up to 2.8%, but it's still below
a recent peak of 3.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 248.91 points or
1.00 percent to 24,758.12, Nasdaq dropped 14.201 points or 0.19 percent to
7,496.81, while the S&P 500 was down by 15.83 points or 0.57 percent to
2,749.48.
Crude oil futures edged higher on
Wednesday amid contrasting U.S. oil and gasoline stockpile figures. The U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that crude supplies rose by 5
million barrels for the week ended March 9. However, Gasoline stockpiles
dropped 6.3 million barrels for the week, while distillate stockpiles lost 4.4
million barrels. On economic front, U.S. wholesale prices rose slightly in
February, roughly in line with the tepid growth seen in consumer prices. On a
monthly basis, the producer price index that measures wholesale inflation was
up 0.2% following January's 0.4% increase. Retail sales were off 0.1 percent, disappointing
economists looking for growth. Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery
jumped 25 cents or 0.4 percent at $60.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. May Brent crude gained 25 cents or 0.4 percent to settle at
$64.89 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Rising
for the third straight day, Indian rupee ended marginally stronger against
dollar on Wednesday, owing to dollar sale by exporters and banks. Traders took
support with data indicating that India's annual wholesale price inflation
eased in February for the third straight month, helped by a softer rise in food
and fuel prices. February WPI Inflation at 2.48% against 2.84% M-o-M basis.
However, gains were limited as some concern came with a report highlighting that
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to reduce key policy rates in 2018
despite a dip in retail inflation in February. As per the report, risks like
the higher minimum support prices (MSPs) for food grains promised in the budget
can push up the inflation in the next fiscal year. On the global front, dollar
held near one-week lows on Wednesday as the sudden dismissal of US Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson and news that Washington is seeking to impose tariffs of up
to $60 billion of Chinese imports reverberated through currency markets.
Finally, the rupee ended at 64.83, 6 paise stronger from its previous close of
64.89 on Tuesday.
The
FIIs as per Wednesday'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
9122.69 crore against gross selling of Rs 4187.98 crore, while in the debt
segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 512.77 crore with gross sales of Rs
1336.15 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 54.38
crore against gross selling of Rs 54.76 crore.
The US markets closed lower on
Wednesday on rumors that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by a
half-point when the central bank meets next week. Anxiety over President
Trump's trade war comments also rattled markets. Asian markets were trading in
red on Thursday, with regional stock indexes recording slight losses after Wall
Street declined amid concerns over heightened trade tensions. Indian equity
markets edged lower on Wednesday tracking weak global markets, though losses
remained capped as Wholesale prices climbed 2.48 percent year-over-year in
February, slower than January's 2.84 percent rise. Today, the start of the
session is likely to be on negative side on weak global cues and traders will
be eyeing the Balance of trade figure for the month of February to be released
later in the day. However, traders will get some support with World Bank
stating that India's economy is expected to grow 7.3% in the next financial
year and accelerate to 7.5% in 2019-20, bottoming out from the impact of
demonetisation and GST, even as it highlighted private investments and exports
as the two lagging engines of growth. In its biannual publication, India
Development Update, the World Bank said it expected Indian economy to clock a
growth rate of 6.7% in the current financial year. Moreover, The World Bank is
planning to raise lending to India by about $1 billion every year for the next
five years from the current $3 billion to $3.5 billion. The lending will be
mainly for infrastructure projects. There will be buzz in realty sector stocks
after a report stating that the market size of the Indian real estate sector is
expected to reach $180 billion by 2020 with the housing sector contribution
doubling to 11.2 per cent of GDP.
Support
and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10,410.90
|
10,358.02
|
10,442.07
|
BSE Sensex
|
33,835.74
|
33,652.57
|
33,947.03
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
SBI
|
254.71
|
257.05
|
252.08
|
259.93
|
Indian Oil Corporation
|
167.01
|
395.05
|
388.90
|
406.05
|
ICICI Bank
|
129.64
|
306.05
|
300.08
|
309.73
|
Yes Bank
|
129.05
|
318.85
|
310.73
|
324.43
|
Vedanta
|
101.49
|
318.95
|
315.40
|
322.80
|
Hero MotoCorp has commenced retail sales of the new --Passion PRO and Passion XPRO -- across markets in the country.
Yes Bank has acquired 89,781,906 equity shares, constituting 17.31% of the paid-up share capital, having nominal value of Rs 10 per share of Fortis Healthcare.
L&T's wholly owned subsidiary -- LTHE -- has won orders worth in excess of Rs 1600 crore across various business segments.
ICICI Bank has launched an instant overdraft facility for MSMEs customers in a completely online and paperless manner.