Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Profit booking, crude oil prices pull indices by over 1%

Profit booking, crude oil prices pull indices by over 1%

market, BSE, NSE,Mumbai : Profit booking, along with a slight rise in global crude oil prices and depreciation in the Indian rupee, pulled the key Indian equity indices lower on Wednesday after three consecutive days of gains.

Sector-wise, except for IT and FMCG stocks, all others witnessed heavy selling pressure led by auto, finance and banking counters.

Index-wise, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex settled at 34,779.58 points, down 382.90 points or 1.09 per cent.

The NSE Nifty closed at 10,453.05 points, down 131.70 points, or 1.24 per cent.

The volatility during the trade session can be gauged by the 878.27 points swing in Sensex from an intra-day high of 35,605.43 points and a low of 34,727.16.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said: “Market slid below 10,500 mark as rise in oil price and volatility in INR influenced investors to book profit.”

“Global market remain mixed ahead of the release of FOMC minutes later in the day to get cues about rate hike trajectory. Currently the market valuation has moderated to some extent and bond yield has reduced. However, the outcome of Q2 earnings will have a say on the market.”

According to Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager-Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund: “Initial positive momentum gave way to heavy selling pressure as stock markets in India wiped off intra-day gains and plummeted into negative terrain.”

“Selling in auto and financial stocks put pressure on bourses. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump continued his criticism of the Federal Reserve, calling it his biggest threat as it was raising rates too fast. Trump had previously said that the Fed has ‘gone crazy’ and attributed last week’s plunge on Wall Street to the US central bank.”

On Wednesday, the Indian rupee closed at 73.60, down 14 paise from its previous close of 73.46 per US dollar.

In addition, brent crude oil prices inched up to over $81.60 a barrel.

Provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 140.02 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors sold scrip Rs 343.11 crore.

HDFC Securities’ Retail Research Head Deepak Jasani said: “Technically, with the Nifty correcting sharply, traders will need to watch if the index can now hold above the immediate supports of 10,410 points; else a further correction is likely.”

The top gainers in the Sensex were ITC, up 1.34 per cent at Rs 286.35; Coal India, up 1.28 per cent at Rs 280.05; Wipro up 1.20 per cent at Rs 324 ;Infosys up 1.16 per cent at Rs 704.50; and Hindustan Uniliver, up 1.08 per cent at Rs 1,561.05.

Major losers included Yes Bank, down 6.85 per cent at Rs 231.75; Adani Ports, down 5.41 per cent at Rs 315; Maruti Suzuki, down 3.79 per cent at Rs 6,878.70; Tata Motors, down 3.40 per cent at Rs179.20; and Tata Steel, down 3.39 per cent at Rs 554.65 per share.

—IANS

High crude oil prices drive rupee to fresh low

High crude oil prices drive rupee to fresh low

crude oilMumbai : High global crude oil prices, along with continuous outflow of foreign funds pulled the Indian rupee to a fresh low on Thursday.

According to analysts, caution ahead of key macro-economic data, coupled with a rise in demand for US dollars also dragged the rupee lower.

“High crude oil prices and month-end demand for the US dollar have pulled the rupee lower,” Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers research analyst Rushabh Maru told IANS.

Around 12.30 p.m. the Indian rupee was pegged at 70.75 after it touched 70.81-82 to a US dollar — the lowest ever mark — against the greenback.

It opened the day’s trade at the Inter-bank foreign exchange market at 70.58 to a US dollar and soon surpassed its record low of 70.65 to a greenback on Wednesday.

Apart from high crude oil, outflow of foreign funds from the Indian equity and bond markets has had an adverse impact on the rupee.

Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges on Wednesday had shown that foreign institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 1,415.87 crore whereas domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 1,114.36 crore.

Besides, caution prevailed ahead of the release of India’s GDP and fiscal deficit data. The key macro-economic data points will be released on Friday.

—IANS

Macro data to direct equity market trends (Market Outlook)

Macro data to direct equity market trends (Market Outlook)

US dollarBy Rohit Vaid,

Mumbai : The Indian rupee’s movement against the US dollar and the upcoming macro-economic data points are expected to chart the course of key domestic equity indices during the coming week.

According to market observers, other factors such as the direction of foreign fund flows, derivatives expiry and the volatility in global crude oil prices will also impact investor sentiments.

“Crude oil prices, along with the rupee’s movement and the direction of foreign funds are likely to dictate market trends,” SMC Investments and Advisors’ Chairman and Managing Director D.K. Aggarwal told IANS.

“Investors will also remain cautious over the possibility of any rate hike by the US Fed, which can potentially drive away foreign funds from emerging markets such as India.”

Lately, a weakened Indian rupee has been a matter of concern for investors.

However, a reversal in the rupee’s trajectory was seen last week as it strengthened by 25 paise to close at 69.91 against the US dollar.

“The rupee is expected to be range-bound next week. In his speech at the Jackson Hole, US Fed Chairman has reiterated that the Fed will raise interest rates gradually,” said Rushabh Maru, Research Analyst with Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.

“Now the focus will shift to India’s GDP data, due to release next week. Expected range is estimated between 69.60 and 70.20.”

Besides, crucial data points on the country’s fiscal deficit, Index of Eight Core Industries and the Quarterly GDP growth rate will be keenly watched by the market participants.

Additionally, the direction of foreign fund flows will play a key role to determine market movement. Provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought scrips worth Rs 128.64 crore during the week ended August 24.

On technical-charts, any further upsides in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 are seen after the immediate resistance level of 11,621 points is crossed.

“Technically, with the Nifty surging to new highs, its intermediate trend remains up,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research for HDFC Securities.

“The intermediate uptrend is likely to continue once the immediate resistance of 11,621 points is taken out. Crucial supports to watch for resumption of weakness is at 11,499 points.”

Last week, both the key Indian equity indices — S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 — rose for the fifth consecutive week and scaled new highs during the August 20-24 period despite global trade war tensions.

On August 23, both key indices touched their respective intra-day all-time high levels, before settling at their record closing levels.

Consequently, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rose by 303.92 points or 0.80 per cent to close at 38,251.80 points on a weekly basis.

Similarly, the wider Nifty50 on the NSE made gains. On Friday, it ended at 11,557.10 points, higher by 86.35 points or 0.75 per cent from the previous week’s close.

(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in )

—IANS

Rupee devalues to record low of 70 to a USD; recovers

Rupee devalues to record low of 70 to a USD; recovers

Rupee-USDMumbai : Geo-political pressures, along with outflows of foreign funds and high crude oil prices dragged the Indian rupee to its lowest ever intra-day level of over 70 against a US dollar on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, the Indian currency plunged to 70.08 — the lowest ever — against the greenback.

However, a likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India and stabilisation in the global currency markets pared the rupee’s early fall.

At the end of the intra-bank trade session on Tuesday, the Indian rupee strengthened by four paise at 69.90 against the dollar, compared to Monday’s close of 69.94 per greenback.

“A near 4 per cent intra-day rebound in the Turkish Lira, on the back of talks between NSA from USA and Turkish Ambassador to US, was not enough to prevent the rupee from sliding past 70 handle against the greenback,” said Anindya Banerjee, Deputy Vice President for Currency and Interest Rates with Kotak Securities.

“RBI intervention has kept the pair below 70 since then on spot. However, demand from offshore speculators and also demand from importers have not allowed the rupee to appreciate.”

Banerjee pointed out the trend in USD/INR for the rest of the week will be dictated by the trend in greenback against major currencies like Euro and GBP.

Recent US-imposed sanctions and tariffs on Turkey has had an impact on its and other emerging market currencies over fears of further global protectionist measures.

“Since currencies of emerging and developed markets are falling, the RBI is not intervening aggressively in the market. It is intervening selectively to contain volatility,” Rushabh Maru, Research Analyst, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, told IANS.

“Since 70 level has been breached today we may see importers rushing to buy dollars on every dip in the USD/INR. On the other hand exporters may avoid selling dollars at current levels as the rupee is depreciating sharply.”

Apart from global cues, outflow of foreign funds from the Indian equity and bond markets has had an adverse impact on the rupee.

Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrip worth Rs 378.84 crore.

“The swift move past 69 happened due to Foreign Institution Investor (FII) outflows and the need to hedge existing short dollar positions in the market, driven by global market sentiment rather than actual importer demand,” said B. Prasanna, Group Executive and Head for Global Markets Group, ICICI Bank.

“On a medium term basis, the rupee will need to depreciate further to keep up with the inflation differentials with other trading partners. However there could be a minor reversal of this depreciation on a short term basis when the global situation stabilises.”

—IANS

Inflation rate, no-turst vote keep equity indices subdued (Market Review)

Inflation rate, no-turst vote keep equity indices subdued (Market Review)

NSEBy Rituraj Baruah,

Mumbai : Weak global cues, along with higher inflation and a no-trust vote in Parliament, subdued the key Indian indices in the week-ended Friday.

Weakening of the Indian rupee to fresh lows during the week also eroded investor sentiments in the Indian equity market, analysts said.

However, the Indian currency recovered and appreciated on Friday, thereby lifting the indices on a daily basis and restricting further decline in the equity market compared to the previous week’s close.

Significantly, on Wednesday the benchmark BSE Sensex hit a fresh record high of 36,747.87 points, but could not hold on to the gains.

On a weekly basis, Sensex closed at 36,496.37 points — down 45.26 points or 0.12 per cent from the previous close.

The wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) settled at 11,010.20 points, down just 8.7 points or 0.08 per cent — from its previous week’s close.

The market breadth was negative in four out of the five trading sessions of the week, according to Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

“Weak global cues and the no-confidence motion in the monsoon session of Parliament dented the sentiment across the street,” said Parteek Jain, Director of Hem Securities.

Moreover, ahead of the F&O expiry in the coming week, traders were seen squaring off their positions, Jain added.

Rahul Sharma, Senior Research Analyst at Equity99 noted: “Stock-specific action continued as sentiment was partially hit after index heavy-weight like Bajaj Auto and Kotak Mahindra Bank missed market expectations.”

The no-confidence motion vote had a limited impact on market sentiments as the ruling party was sure of its majority in Parliament, he said.

Earlier in the week, the rise in the wholesale inflation rate for June depressed the equity indices.

The wholesale inflation rate for June was recorded at 5.77 per cent, compared to 4.43 per cent in the previous month, according to data released on Monday.

On the currency front, the rupee closed at 68.85 on Friday, strengthening by just 3 paise from its previous week’s close of 68.88 per greenback.

On Thursday, the rupee touched a fresh closing low of 69.05 per dollar. Minutes into the trade on Friday, it hit an all-time low of 69.12 against the greenback but eventually bounced back sharply and helped end the currency trade with appreciation on a weekly basis.

According to Jasani: “Strengthening US dollar, weakening Chinese yuan, domestic political uncertainty, buoyant crude prices and capital outflows have all resulted in pressurizing the rupee lately.”

In terms of investments, provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrip worth Rs 1,209.41 crore, while the domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 1,300.06 crore in the week bygone.

Figures from the National Securities Depository (NSDL) revealed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) divested Rs 888.70 crore, or $129.80 million from the equities segment on stock exchanges during the week ended on July 20.

Sector-wise the major gainers in the week were energy, public sector banks and IT, while metals, realty, pharma and auto were among the major losers, HDFC Securities’ Jasani told IANS.

The top weekly Sensex gainers were Infosys (up 3 per cent at Rs 1,348.35); Reliance Industries (up 2.90 per cent at Rs 1,128.55); Yes Bank (up 2.72 per cent at Rs 386.65); ONGC (up 2.10 per cent at Rs 157.85); and Asian Paints (up 2.08 per cent at Rs 1,396.90 per share).

The major losers were Tata Steel (down 9.80 per cent at Rs 503.45); Bajaj Auto (down 9.35 per cent at Rs 2,841.10); Tata Motors (DVR) (down 6.32 per cent at Rs 140.80); Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 5.08 per cent at Rs 1,333.45); and Hindustan Unilever (down 4.88 per cent at Rs 1,656.20 per share).

(Rituraj Baruah can be contacted at rituraj.b@ians.in)

—IANS