by admin | May 25, 2021 | Banking, Business, Economy, Finance, Investing, Markets, News, SMEs
By Porisma P. Gogoi
Mumbai : Continuing the bull run for the second consecutive week, key Indian equity indices — the Sensex and the Nifty50 — closed with minimal gains as short covering in healthcare and banking stocks coupled with continuous purchasing activities by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) kept market sentiment afloat.
On a weekly basis, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE rose by 71.38 points or 0.99 per cent to close at 31,596.06 points.
Meanwhile, the Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed at 9,857.05 points, up 19.65 points or 0.2 per cent.
“Nifty witnessed minor upside bounce this week and closed the week with minor gains of around 20 points (0.20 per cent). Sectorally, the top weekly gainers were the pharma, metal and banking indices, while the losers were IT and FMCG indices,” Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.
According to D.K. Aggarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, SMC Investments and Advisors, the domestic market took pressure due to crack-down of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on shell companies and geopolitical tension between India-China and USA-North Korea.
“However, on Wednesday, domestic market moved little higher aided by fresh buying mainly in realty, healthcare and banks, coupled with positive global cues,” Aggarwal told IANS.
“Also, the news that the Union Cabinet has moved another step towards the merger of some of the state-owned banks supported the bulls.”
On August 23, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that “in principle” approval has been granted by the Union Cabinet for the consolidation of state-run banks through mergers. The announcement led to massive gains in public sector bank’s (PSU banks) stocks.
On the currency front, the Indian rupee strengthened by 10-11 paise to close the week at 64.03-04 to a US dollar from its previous week’s close at 64.14.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, observed that pull-out of foreign funds and persistent miss in quarter earnings, which could end up with drop in FY18 profit-after-tax estimate, kept investors a little jittery.
“Month-to-date, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the market on concerns of premium valuation, whereas DIIs continued to pour money into domestic market, which is keeping the market trend positive. Further, short covering due to shorter trading days (Friday which is a holiday) and nearness of August futures and options (F&O) expiry also supported the sentiment,” said Nair.
Provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed that FIIs sold stocks worth Rs 4,666.53 crore, while DIIs bought scrips worth Rs 2,883.99 crore during August 21-24.
Figures from the National Securities Depository (NSDL) revealed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) divested equities worth Rs 5,281.52 crore, or $824.17 million, during the trade week ended August 24.
“IT sector continued to witness pressure due to recent management turbulence in Infosys despite a premium buyback announcement. NPA (non-performing assets) worries in PSU Banks may cloud the outlook, whereas cabinet nod for fast track consolidation of PSU banks attain investors attention,” added Nair.
The top weekly Sensex gainers were: Bharti Airtel (up 3.95 per cent at Rs 433); Lupin (up 3.95 per cent at Rs 991.75); Dr Reddy’s Lab (up 3.88 per cent at Rs 2,087.90); Tata Steel (up 2.09 per cent at Rs 638.95); and Axis Bank (up 1.77 per cent at Rs 505.60).
The losers were: Infosys (down 10.64 per cent at Rs 912.50); NTPC (down 4.35 per cent at Rs 169.15); Bajaj Auto (down 3.15 per cent at Rs 2,731.85); Hero MotoCorp (down 3.06 per cent at Rs 3,874.50); and Adani Ports (down 2.64 per cent at Rs 379.95).
(Porisma P. Gogoi can be contacted at porisma.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, Markets, News
Mumbai : Key Indian equity indices — the NSE Nifty50 and the BSE Sensex — on Thursday closed on a flat-to-positive note as short covering in healthcare stocks, coupled with positive European markets and a strong rupee, kept investors’ sentiments afloat.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed fractionally higher by 4.55 points or 0.05 per cent at 9,857.05 points.
The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 31,673.44 points, provisionally closed at 31,596.06 points — up 28.05 points or 0.09 per cent from the previous close at 31,568.01 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 31,678.19 points and a low of 31,546.05 points during the intra-day trade.
The BSE market breadth was bullish with 1,452 advances and 1,119 declines.
In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index rose by 0.80 per cent, and the small-cap index by 0.46 per cent.
“Benchmark indices traded flat on Thursday following Asian markets, which shrugged off comments from US President Donald Trump about a shutdown of his government if the US Congress fails to fund a Mexico border wall,” Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.
“Investors also kept a close eye on a central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which begins (later) on Thursday, where Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are both due to speak,” Desai added.
On the currency front, the Indian rupee strengthened by 7-8 paise to 64.03-04 to a US dollar from its previous close at 64.11.
In investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold scrips worth Rs 696.93 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 1,044.38 crore.
“After opening on a positive note today, the Nifty failed to display upside momentum and remained within a small range of 32 points through the day. Highlight for the day was outperformance of pharma stocks,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.
“Sectorally, most of the sectors of the broader markets moved up marginally except NSE pharma which rose sharply. European indices like FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 traded higher,” he added.
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE healthcare index surged by 326.98 points, followed by capital goods index by 90 points and the IT index by 68.42 points.
On the other hand, the S&P BSE FMCG index fell by 23.67 points, the oil and gas index by 17.93 points, and the realty index by 17.50 points.
Major Sensex gainers on Thursday were: Lupin, up 3.87 per cent at Rs 991.75; Sun Pharma, up 3.10 per cent at Rs 483.30; Dr. Reddy’s Lab, up 2.88 per cent at Rs 2,087.90; Cipla, up 2.47 per cent at Rs 573.40; and Infosys, up 2.01 per cent at Rs 912.50.
Major Sensex losers were: Adani Ports, down 1.32 per cent at Rs 379.95; Bajaj Auto, down 1.04 per cent at Rs 2,731.85; Reliance Industries, down 0.88 per cent at Rs 1,567.40; HDFC, down 0.73 per cent at Rs 1,750; and Hindustan Unilever, down 0.72 per cent at Rs 1,178.95.
The Indian equity markets will remain closed on Friday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Commodity Market, Economy, Investing, Markets, News
By Porisma P. Gogoi,
Mumbai : Key Indian equity indices — the Sensex and the Nifty50 — rebounded from their five-week lows during the week ended Friday as sentiments were buoyed by easing global geo-political tensions and healthy buying in realty, metal and FMCG stocks.
According to market analysts, despite the reluctance observed in foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to pump in funds, continuous purchasing activities by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) kept the Indian markets afloat.
The indices, however, gave up a bulk of their gains on the last trading day (Friday) in the wake of a major corporate announcement — the resignation of a key managerial personnel at global software major Infosys. The IT sector suffered the most, with the S&P BSE IT index plunging by 369.19 points, or 3.53 per cent intra-day.
On a weekly basis, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE gained 311.09 points or 0.99 per cent to close at 31,524.68 points.
Meanwhile, the Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed at 9,837.40 points, gaining 126.6 points or 1.30 per cent.
“Markets witnessed a pullback rally this week, although a sell-off on Friday curbed the gains. Sectorally, the top gainers were the realty, metal and FMCG indices, while the top loser was the IT index,” Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: “This bounce back was led by ease in tensions between North Korea and the US and the Fed’s dovish future outlook. Bargain hunting post healthy correction in mid and small-cap and DIIs inflows supported the up-move.”
Provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed that FIIs sold stocks worth Rs 5,892.1 crore, while DIIs bought scrips worth Rs 4,369.26 crore during August 14-18.
“Markets in Asia were weak on Friday’s morning trade after the Wall Street closed weak amid Trump administration’s inability to follow through economic policy. Strength in the yen against the dollar also weighed on markets,” said Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls.
“In the Indian markets, as per technical charts, the Nifty has formed a spinning top pattern, which indicates that the bears were not in a mood to give up easily,” said Desai.
On the currency front, the Indian rupee closed the week on a flat note at 64.14 to a US dollar from its previous week’s close.
Figures from the National Securities Depository (NSDL) revealed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) divested equities worth Rs 6,804.47 crore, or $1.06 billion, during the week ended August 18.
“Broader markets continued to outperform as mid-caps and small-caps remained attractive to domestic liquidity after the profit-booking spells. Further, a major sell-off witnessed in IT major Infosys due to surprise resignation by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and terrorist in Europe attack put market in cautious mood,” added Nair.
On Friday, scrips of Infosys plummeted almost 10 per cent, eroding over Rs 22,400 crore in the firm’s market capitalisation (m-cap) at the end of the day’s trade, post the resignation of Vishal Sikka as its CEO and Managing Director (MD). In the process, it pulled down two key market indices by almost one per cent.
Analysts pointed out that the fall in the company’s scrip was the biggest since early 2013. “Infosys shares fell as much as 13 per cent, on way to their steepest intra-day percentage loss since April 2013,” added Desai.
The top weekly Sensex gainers were: Tata Steel (up 3.45 per cent at Rs 625.40), Tata Motors (DVR)(up 3.23 per cent at Rs 227), ITC (up 3.19 per cent at Rs 281.80), Cipla (up 3.06 per cent at Rs 565.70) and Hero MotoCorp (up 2.47 per cent at Rs 3,982.75).
The losers were: Infosys (down 6.05 per cent at Rs 923.10), State Bank of India (down 6.04 per cent at Rs 278.65), Larsen and Toubro (down 2.46 per cent at Rs 1,131), ONGC (down 1.80 per cent at Rs 160.75) and Mahindra and Mahindra (down 1.31 per cent at Rs 1,371.15).
(Porisma P. Gogoi can be contacted at porisma.g@ians.in)
—IANS
