Recovery which emerged in last
leg of trade mainly helped Indian equity benchmarks to end slightly in green
terrain on Monday. Markets made a negative start to the crucial week of F&O
expiry and traded mostly in red throughout the session, as traders remained on
sidelines ahead of GDP and PMI data for the manufacturing sector due later this
week. Sentiments also remained dampened with Standard & Poor's decision of
retaining its sovereign rating for India at BBB- with a stable outlook, dashing
hopes of another upgrade after rival Moody's lifted its rating by a notch after
a gap of nearly 14 years. Traders also remained concerned with industry body
Assocham's statement that inflation would remain a key concern for the RBI and
the government, dimming hopes of a cut in interest rates. The chamber observed
that as uncertainty and apprehension loom over crude oil prices and vegetables,
mainly on the back of rising retail prices of onion and tomatoes, it is
disrupting household budgets. However, markets took U-turn from intraday lows
in final hour of trade and staged splendid recovery to enter into green, as
traders took some solace with Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar's statement
that the time has come for consolidation of reforms, including GST, bankruptcy
code and benami law, initiated by the Modi government in the last 42 months to
ensure that the steps deliver the 'desired fruits'. Markets participants also
get some comfort after Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg
expressed optimism with government's various reforms like fiscal consolidation
drive and note ban and said that India's second quarter (Q2) growth will be far
better than the first quarter (Q1) of the current financial year. Besides, a
foreign brokerage firm has time and again reiterated its bullishness on the
Indian economy, saying that the country is slated to see tremendous growth in
the near future. It expects the second quarter India's Q2 GDP number growth to
be around 6.5%, which will confirm a turn in the growth environment. Finally,
the BSE Sensex gained 45.20 points or 0.13% to 33,724.44, while the CNX Nifty
was up by 9.85 points or 0.09% to 10,399.55.
The US markets closed mostly
lower on Monday, after touching intraday records as an early rally in retail
shares largely fizzled. However, the blue-chip Dow bucked the weak trend to eke
out modest gain. Investors are also watching for developments surrounding the
Republican tax plan, with a Senate vote on proposed tax changes expected this
week - perhaps as early as Tuesday. On the economy front, new-home sales surged
to a decade high in October, running at a 685,000 seasonally adjusted annual
rate that was 6.2% higher than a downwardly revised September pace. Sales of
newly constructed homes skyrocketed in September, to a 620,000 pace, in
October. But September's figure, originally reported as 667,000, was reduced to
645,000. The October number was the highest in precisely a decade, and stood
18.7% higher than a year ago. The Nasdaq lost 10.639 points or 0.15 percent to
6,878.52, the S&P 500 edged lower by 1 points or 0.04 percent to 2,601.42,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22.79 points or 0.10 percent to
23,580.78.
Crude oil futures snapping their
gaining streak ended lower on Tuesday, as uncertainty concerning Russia's
willingness to extend output curbs beyond March ahead of the OPEC meeting this
week weighed on sentiment. Russia is said to be on board with extending the
supply quota plan through 2018, but is pushing for OPEC assurances that all
members of the cartel will comply with the plan. Benchmark crude oil futures
for December delivery ended lower by $0.93 or 1.4 percent at $58.11 a barrel on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery was up by 0.65
percent to $63.88 a barrel on the ICE.
Indian
rupee appreciated against US dollar on Monday, as fresh sale of the US currency
by exporters paced up. Trading sentiments remained positive after Economic
Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg expressed optimism that with
government's various reforms like fiscal consolidation drive and note ban,
India's second quarter (Q2) growth will be far better than the first quarter
(Q1) of the current financial year. Some relief also came with Chief Economic
Adviser Arvind Subramanian's statement that India's steady growth has resulted
in a consistent decline in poverty and improvement in several human development
indices. Besides, a weak dollar against some currencies overseas also supported
the rupee. On the global front, euro hit the highest level in two-months
against dollar on Monday, as data pointing to robust growth in the euro zone
helped overcome investors' concerns over political uncertainty in Germany.
Finally, the rupee ended at 64.50, 20 paise stronger from its previous close of
64.70 on Friday.
The FIIs as per Monday'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 4564.89 crore against gross
selling of Rs 4457.34 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was
of Rs 232.50 crore with gross sales of Rs 457.98 crore.
The US markets made a mixed
closing after a lackluster trade, as traders seemed reluctant to make
significant moves ahead of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair
nominee Jerome Powell and current Fed Chair Janet Yellen. The Asian markets
have made a mixed start amid uncertainty over the US tax bill, though the
Japanese market was trading higher as the yen reversed earlier gains. The
Indian markets in a late hour bounce back managed a modestly positive close in
last session. Today, the start is likely to be a bit somber and the traders
will be reacting to the report that tax collection under the Goods and Services
Tax (GST) was lower at Rs 83,346 crore in October, against a mop-up of over Rs
90,000 crore in September. The Finance Ministry said that total collection
stood at Rs 83,346 crore till November 27 for the month of October and 50.1
lakh returns were filed for the month. Markets however may get some respite
with report that the government sticking to its promise to lower the tax burden
on India Inc is exploring the possibility of reducing the corporate tax rates
for larger firms as well. The exact quantum of the cut in corporate tax rate is
expected to be finalised closer to the presentation of the Union Budget
2018-19, but revenue implications also have to be factored in. Also, Asian
Development Bank expects the Indian economy to pick up in the coming quarters
and grow by 7 per cent this fiscal. There will be buzz in the telecom sector,
as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will issue recommendations
on net neutrality.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
10399.55
|
10357.45
|
10424.40
|
BSE Sensex
|
33724.44
|
33594.88
|
33799.59
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
(in Lacs)
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support
(Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
SBI
|
131.15
|
335.65
|
330.13
|
339.08
|
NTPC
|
102.00
|
186.35
|
181.68
|
188.93
|
ICICI Bank
|
93.34
|
317.00
|
314.13
|
319.23
|
Axis Bank
|
93.01
|
559.40
|
546.28
|
567.18
|
Power Grid
|
83.31
|
210.15
|
208.15
|
212.00
|
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Infosys has entered into a partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to offer a joint end-to-end mainframe modernization solution.