Indian equity benchmarks ended
Wednesday's trade on high note that marked a second straight day of gain for
the markets, tracking bullish trend from global key indices as authorities
world over stepped up efforts to fight the pandemic. Sensex ended above 28,500
Mark, while Nifty reclaimed 8,300 Mark. Key indices witnessed a fluctuating
trade in the morning session, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a
complete lockdown of the country for 21 days to curb the spread of the deadly
coronavirus pandemic that will have a bearing on businesses across the country.
However, markets changed their gear in afternoon session and gained steadily,
taking support Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement where she
extended the deadline for filing tax returns by three months beyond March 31.
She also announced a slew of regulatory and compliance measures across sectors
to alleviate the hardships being faced by various businesses. Markets continued
their strong bullish momentum in late trade, as Securities and Exchange Board
of India (SEBI) in its latest data showed that investments through
participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market rose to Rs 68,862
crore at the end of February 2020, making it the second consecutive monthly
increase. Domestic sentiments were also buoyed with Union Food Minister Ram
Vilas Paswan's statement that the government is monitoring the availability of
essential commodities in the market amid nationwide lockdown for next 21 days
to check the spread of coronavirus outbreak. He also warned manufacturers and
traders against profiteering during this period. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained
1861.75 points or 6.98% to 28,535.78, while the CNX Nifty was up by 516.80
points or 6.62% to 8317.85.
The US markets ended mostly
higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average booking its first
back-to-back gains in about seven weeks, as investors have waded back into a
battered market. Markets held on to a gains partly due to a substantial advance
by shares of Boeing (BA), which spiked by 24.3 percent after a private report
said the aerospace giant plans to restart 737 MAX production by May. Nike (NKE)
also moved sharply higher after the athletic footwear and apparel maker reported
better than expected fiscal third quarter results and said sales in China have
rebounded since the coronavirus outbreak in the country has eased. However,
upside remained capped amid a dispute between Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,
and several Republican Senators that could delay a massive stimulus package.
Sanders said he is prepared to put a hold on the legislation unless the GOP
Senators drop their objections to fast-tracking the bill over a provision that
would increase maximum unemployment benefits by $600 a week for four months. On
the economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed an
unexpected increase in new orders for US durable goods in the month of
February. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders jumped by 1.2 percent
in February after a revised uptick 0.1 percent in January. Street had expected
durable goods orders to decrease by about 0.8 percent compared to the 0.2
percent dip that had been reported for the previous month. The unexpected
increase in durable goods orders was largely due to a substantial rebounded in
orders for transportation equipment, which spiked by 4.6 percent in February
after falling by 0.9 percent in January.
Crude oil futures ended higher on
Wednesday as optimism surrounding the $2 trillion US economic stimulus package
eventually helped to calm some worries about growing supply amid a price war
between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Meanwhile, data released by the Energy
Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories in the US rose by
1.6 million barrels for the week ended March 20, against expectations for a 2.8
million barrels increase. The EIA data also showed supply declines of 1.5
million barrels for gasoline and 700,000 barrels for distillates. Crude oil
futures for May rose 48 cents or 2 percent to settle at $24.49 a barrel on the
New York Mercantile Exchange. May Brent crude gained 24 cents or 0.9 percent to
settle at $27.39 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.
Indian Money market remained
closed on Wednesday on account of Gudi Padwa, the beginning of the
Maharashtrian New Year.
The FIIs as per Tuesday's data
were net sellers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross
buying was of Rs 5767.26 crore against gross selling of Rs 8407.39 crore, while
in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 2032.28 crore with gross
sales of Rs 3601.14 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was
of Rs 6.04 crore against gross selling of Rs 4.99 crore.
The US markets ended mostly
higher on Wednesday amid a dispute between Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and
several Republican Senators that could delay a massive stimulus package. Asian
markets are trading mostly in red on Thursday as investors are awaiting the
passage and details of a $2 trillion stimulus package in the United States to
combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Indian markets ended sharply
higher on Wednesday, with gains of around 7% each, as they joined the rally in
the global markets, shrugging off concerns surrounding the impact of 21-day
nationwide lockdown on the economy. Today, the markets are likely to get flat-to-negative
start amid mixed cues from global markets. There will be some volatility in the
markets due to the expiry of the Futures and Options (F&O) contracts for
the month of March. Also, there will be some cautiousness with Care Ratings'
report that if the 21-day long national lockdown leads to 80 per cent
production loss, the economy will take a hit of Rs 35,000-40,000 crore on a
daily basis, shaving off Rs 6.3-7.2 trillion cumulatively. It added that Q4
growth may not be negative but can go down to 1.5-2.5%. The economy was slated
to grow by Rs 1.74 lakh crore in Q4 or by 4.7%. though, some support may come
later in the day with a private report that the government is likely to agree
an economic stimulus package of more than Rs 1.5 trillion ($19.6 billion) to
fight a downturn in the country that is currently locked down to stem the
spread of coronavirus. Besides, , the government has decided to increase
monthly quota of subsidized foodgrains by 2 kg to 7kg per person through ration
shops for 80 crore beneficiaries to ensure sufficient supply during the
lockdown. There will be some buzz in the metal stocks as World Steel
Association (worldsteel) in its latest report stated that India's crude steel
output increased by 1.5% to 9.56 million tonnes (MT) in February this year. The
country had produced 9.42 MT steel in the same month a year ago. Oil industry
stocks will be in focus as the oil ministry's data showed that crude oil
production at 2.39 million tonnes in February was 6.41% lower than 2.56 million
tonnes output in the same month a year back. There will be some reaction in
aviation stocks with aviation consultancy CAPA India's report that Indian
aviation sector is projected to incur a staggering $3.3-3.6 billion loss in the
first quarter of the next financial year if flight services remain grounded
till June-end.
Support and
Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)
Index
|
Previous close
|
Support
|
Resistance
|
NSE Nifty
|
8,317.85
|
7,896.15
|
8,558.15
|
BSE Sensex
|
28,535.78
|
27,000.40
|
29,430.68
|
Nifty Top volumes
Stock
|
Volume
|
Previous close (Rs)
|
Support (Rs)
|
Resistance (Rs)
|
(in Lacs)
|
State Bank of India
|
715.68
|
189.90
|
179.15
|
197.95
|
ICICI Bank
|
665.46
|
316.90
|
287.62
|
340.17
|
ITC
|
625.06
|
147.35
|
140.23
|
153.23
|
Tata Motors
|
577.16
|
70.25
|
67.77
|
72.22
|
Axis Bank
|
519.94
|
326.80
|
287.28
|
365.03
|
IOC is cutting down the run-rate of its refineries by at least one-fourth to keep fuel production in line with the demand.
ONGC has been forced to cut natural gas production by up to one-tenth as customers refused to take supplies because of business disruption.
Tata Motors is planning to introduce three more vehicles during the course of this calendar year.
Vedanta has cut the prices of aluminium ingots for the fourth time in a row.