Extending
their northward journey for fourth straight session, Indian equity benchmarks
ended the F&O expiry day in green terrain, hitting fresh record highs with
Sensex and Nifty surpassing their crucial 33,100 and 10,300 levels for the
first time, respectively. Markets started on sluggish note, as sentiments
remained dampened with Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian's statement
that bad loans and stressed assets in Indian Banks are estimated at Rs 10 lakh
crore ($153.49 billion). Traders also remained on sidelines with a recent poll
showing that India's
economy will likely grow at its slowest pace in four years this fiscal year, as
a currency ban and the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) have disrupted business
activity and dampened consumer demand. The poll enlightened that Asia's
third-largest economy will grow at 6.7 percent in the fiscal year ending March
2018, the slowest since the new methodology of measuring gross domestic product
(GDP) was introduced in the 2014-15 fiscal year. However, domestic gauges took
U turn and entered into green terrain in noon
deals to end near intraday highs, as traders turned optimistic with DIPP
Secretary Ramesh Abhishek stating that India's
ranking may improve significantly in the World Bank's ease of doing business
report on the back of reforms initiated by the government. He also said that
the introduction of GST is bound to be a ‘gamechanger' for India's
economy despite the expected initial hiccups, which are being addressed by the
government. Some support also came with private report stating that the
recapitalisation programme for public sector banks is likely to boost equity
market sentiment as it fuels growth recovery hopes, but should be followed up
with structural changes at such banks for better results. Meanwhile, S&P
Global Ratings' report highlighting that Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion
into PSU banks will help dealing with bloated balance sheet and enable banks to
take haircuts on their non-performing loans. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged
104.63 points or 0.32% to 33,147.13, while the CNX Nifty was up by 48.45 points
or 0.47% to 10,343.80.
The US
markets made a mixed closing despite trading mostly higher for the day. The Dow
and the S&P 500 closed in the green, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the
day in the red. In early trade sentiment turned jubilant after House
Republicans voted to approve a Senate-passed budget resolution, taking a key
step toward tax reform. The non-binding budget resolution unlocks the
reconciliation process, allowing Republicans to pass their tax reform plan with
a simple 51-vote majority in the Senate. In other economic news, the Labor
Department released a report showing a modest rebound in initial jobless claims
in the week ended October 21st. Initial jobless claims rose to 233,000, an
increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 223,000. The
National Association of Realtors released a separate report showing pending
home sales were unexpectedly flat in the month of September. NAR said its
pending home sales index came in at 106.0 in September, unchanged from a
downwardly revised reading for August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained
71.40 points or 0.31 percent to 23,400.86 and the S&P 500 edged higher by 3.25
points or 0.13 percent to 2,560.40, while the Nasdaq dropped 7.12 points or 0.11
percent to 6,556.77.
Crude
oil futures rallied on Thursday, nearing their multi-month highs amid optimism
the global supply glut will end in 2018. Prices moved higher also on growing
expectations that Opec would extend its supply-cut agreement amid bullish
comments from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He insisted that
Opec need to continue stabilizing the market. The bullish comments helped turn
sentiment on oil prices positive amid investor concerns over recent data
showing both U.S.
crude supplies and domestic production jumped last week. Benchmark crude oil
futures for December delivery ended higher by 46 cents or 0.9 percent at $52.64
a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for December delivery
gained 44 cents to $59.30 a barrel on the ICE.
Gaining for the second day, Indian rupee ended marginally
higher against US dollar on Thursday as exporters and banks stepped up selling
of the American currency. Sentiments remained optimistic with DIPP Secretary
Ramesh Abhishek's statement that India's ranking may improve significantly in the World Bank's
ease of doing business report on the back of reforms initiated by the
government. The domestic unit also found support from gains in local equity
markets. However, the rupee gains were, to some extent, capped due to
strengthening in dollar against some other currencies overseas. On the global
front, US dollar surged against yen on Thursday as market players waited for
the results of a policy meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB). Finally,
the rupee ended at 64.82, 8 paise stronger from its previous close of 64.90 on
Wednesday.
The
FIIs as per Thursday's data were net buyers in equity and debt segments both.
In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 16522.70 crore against gross
selling of Rs 9710.28 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was
of Rs 2588.34 crore with gross sales of Rs 1990.78 crore.
The US
markets made a mixed closing despite some positive economic reports and some better-than-expected
corporate results, also the House of Representatives passed a budget blueprint,
paving the way for the Senate to eventually pass a tax-reform package by a
simple majority. The Asian markets have made jubilant start with some indices
trading higher by around a percent, led by technology stocks taking cues from
some upbeat earnings, while the US congressional action on tax reform too boosted
confidence in the growth outlook. The Indian markets recovering from the early
weakness surged in last session to snap the October F&O series on record
high levels. Today the start of the new series is likely to be in green and the
markets will be extending their winning streak amid positive global cues.
Markets will be getting some encouragement with credit rating agency Fitch
report that the recent recapitalisation plan announced by the government for
public sector banks will provide substantial funds to the lenders to address
the capital shortages, that has a major negative impact on their ratings. There will be some buzz in the market with the markets
regulator Sebi revising the framework for 'block deals' by providing two
separate trading windows of 15 minutes each and increasing the minimum order size
to Rs10 crore. The move is aimed at ensuring confidentiality of the large
trades and stable prices for such transactions. The power sector stocks will be
in action, as the Power Minister R.K. Singh has said that the government is
working to make obligations under power purchase agreement (PPA) statutory
binding, ensuring all discoms have PPAs to cover 100 percent requirement.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10343.80
|
10291.88
|
10375.68
|
BSE Sensex
|
33147.13
|
32922.74
|
33283.85 |
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
SBI
|
1,128.04
|
320.50
|
308.23
|
342.03
|
ICICI Bank
|
432.56
|
299.25
|
291.28
|
310.93
|
Yes Bank
|
265.82
|
331.20
|
319.92
|
340.57
|
Axis Bank
|
249.36
|
484.30
|
474.58
|
490.93
|
Vedanta
|
169.78
|
342.85
|
337.00
|
346.55 |
- L&T's construction arm -- L&T Construction -- has
won orders worth Rs 3,551 crore across various business segments.
- Wipro Digital, digital business unit of Wipro, has
completed the acquisition of Cooper Software, Inc. on October 24, 2017.
- Lupin has received final approval for its Clonidine
Hydrochloride Extended-Release Tablets, 0.1 mg from the USFDA.
- Yes Bank has reported 25.10% rise in its net profit at Rs
1002.73 crore for Q2FY18 as compared to Rs 801.54 crore for Q2FY17.