Record setting rally continued on
the Dalal Street for the second straight day on Wednesday, with Sensex and
Nifty ending higher by around half a percent. After a firm start, key indices
remained positive during the whole day, as the Department of Revenue is eyeing
to collect at least Rs 1.10 lakh crore as monthly Goods and Services Tax (GST)
collection for the next four months each. Adding some relief, Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh said that India is impacted to some extent by the global economic
slowdown but expressed confidence that the country will come out of the
difficult situation within a short time. Indices added more gains to their
northward rally in second half of the session, aided with Union Minister Nitin
Gadkari's statement that efforts are on to bolster the economy & create
five crore jobs. He also said the government is according high priority to the
economy but at the same time, security issues are also important & the
government cannot work in silos. Investors took note of CII's President Vikram
Kirloskar's statement that the revised corporate tax rates are competitive
& its impact will be visible in the next two years. He emphasised that the
government listened to the industry word by word on lowering rates. Finally,
the BSE Sensex gained 206.40 points or 0.50% to 41,558.57, while the CNX Nifty
was up by 56.65 points or 0.47% to 12,221.65.
The US markets ended mostly lower
on Wednesday as traders kept an eye on developments on Capitol Hill, where
House Democrats are expected to vote to impeach President Donald Trump.
However, Nasdaq Composite was able to extend its winning streak with the boost
in sentiment from a preliminary US-China trade deal tailing off by the end of
the session. The choppy trading on markets came as the reports the US and China
have agreed on a phase one trade deal has helped maintain positive sentiment,
but traders seem reluctant to make significant moves. Traders generally
remained optimistic about an eventual trade deal throughout the negotiations,
and the actual agreement on a deal has subsequently not led to much further
upside. Overall trading activity remained light throughout the day, with a lack
of major US economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines. Reports on
weekly jobless claims, existing home sales and personal income and spending may
attract attention in the coming days as traders look for the next major
catalyst to drive the markets. Stock
specific development, FedEx shares dropped more than 9% on disappointing
quarterly numbers. The company's earnings and revenue missed Street
expectations. FedEx also cut its guidance for the rest of its fiscal year.
FedEx cited weaker economic conditions across the globe and losing a large
customer.
Crude oil futures settled
marginally higher on Wednesday as US government data revealed a weekly decline
in domestic crude supplies that was smaller than the market expected. The
Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude supplies fell by
1.1 million barrels for the week ended December 13. That was less than the 2.5
million-barrel average decline expected by Street. The American Petroleum
Institute on Tuesday reported a 4.7 million-barrel climb. The EIA data also
revealed supply increases of 2.5 million barrels for gasoline and 1.5 million
barrels for distillates. Benchmark crude oil futures for January added 8 cents
or 0.1 percent to settle at $61.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. February Brent gained 16 cents or 0.2 percent to settle at $66.26 a
barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian
rupee ended almost flat against dollar on Wednesday, as rising crude oil prices
kept investors edgy. Traders failed to take support with Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh's statement that India is impacted to some extent by the global
economic slowdown but expressed confidence that the country will come out of
the difficult situation within a short time. Dollar's strength against major
global currencies overseas also weighed on the domestic unit. On the global
front, US dollar strengthened across the board on Wednesday, rising against a
battered euro ahead of the German Ifo business survey, and versus a pound that
has lost all of its election gains on fears Britain could leave the EU without
a trade deal. Finally, the rupee ended at 70.97, 1 paise stronger from its
previous close of 70.98 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
7867.96 crore against gross selling of Rs 6654.99 crore, while in the debt
segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 896.53 crore with gross sales of Rs
1511.84 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 28.36
crore against gross selling of Rs 26.54 crore.
The US markets closed mostly
lower on Wednesday as rancor continued in Washington and shipper FedEx issued a
profit warning. Asian markets are trading in red on Thursday following
lackluster trade on Wall Street. Indian markets ended at fresh record highs on
Wednesday, tracking gains in index heavyweight HDFC Bank, RIL and ITC amid
unabated foreign fund inflows. Today, the markets are likely to make
pessimistic start amid weak global cues and economic growth concerns. Traders
will be concerned with former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian's
statement that India is facing a Great Slowdown with its economy headed for
intensive care unit primarily due to a second wave of the twin balance sheet
crisis at banks. Also, there will be some cautiousness with repro that most of
the states opposed a change in slabs or hike in Goods and Services Tax (GST)
during the crucial GST Council meeting on Wednesday arguing an increase in the
levies would have adverse implications for the economy facing a slowdown.
Besides, the GST Council has fixed a uniform tax rate of 28 per cent on both
state and private lottery. Traders may take note of report that some state
governments have asked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to raise their
permissible fiscal deficit limit, from the current 3 per cent of gross state
domestic product (GSDP) to 4 per cent, after adjusting for inflation. However,
some respite may come later in the day with industry body Nasscom's statement
that technology startups alone have created 60,000 direct jobs this year and
overall the IT sector will be a positive hirer in the current financial year.
Meanwhile, amid rising inward shipments of gold, the government has imposed
restrictions on import of precious metals. According to a notification issued
by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), import of gold in any form
has been placed in restricted category from the free category. There will be
some buzz in the sugar stocks with industry body ISMA's statement that India's
sugar production stood at 4.58 million tonne till December 15 of the ongoing
marketing year, down 35 percent from the year-ago period, owing to a sharp fall
in output in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Insurance stocks will be in focus with
the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (Irdai) data
showing that non-life insurance companies registered a rise of 13.1 per cent in
their collective premium in November to Rs 14,590.50 crore.
Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
12,221.65
|
12,177.50
|
12,251.75
|
BSE Sensex
|
41,558.57
|
41,406.44
|
41,662.74
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
Yes Bank
|
1,302.83
|
46.75
|
45.77
|
47.97
|
Tata Motors
|
638.61
|
174.80
|
168.67
|
182.72
|
Tata Steel
|
400.28
|
444.75
|
435.60
|
454.35
|
SBI
|
264.49
|
326.95
|
323.32
|
333.07
|
Bharti Airtel
|
176.55
|
438.30
|
432.60
|
445.55
|
Axis Bank has launched co-branded credit card in partnership with Indian Oil Corporation.
Tata Motors is expecting CV business to remain in slow lane for the next few months and witness turnaround only by the second half of the next fiscal.
Infosys has launched three blockchain-powered distributed applications for government services, insurance, and supply chain management domains.
NTPC has made an application to list Commercial Paper at BSE for an Issue Size of Rs 2,000 crore.