'I don't see any major setback for the Indian markets post the US Fed event.'
'Markets are factoring in a good show by India Inc in Q2.'
The 50-share NSE Nifty too rose by 20.35 points, or 0.19 per cent, to end at 10,908.70.
Nestle India, HCL Tech, M&M, HDFC Bank, Maruti and Tech Mahindra were also among the losers. NSE Nifty tumbled 97.70 points to 11,202.85.
Battling a sharp surge in inflation, the Reserve Bank is all for a smooth monetary policy response and the desire to have smaller hikes led it to tighten the policy in an off-schedule meet, a source said on Thursday. Inflation has been massively impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and will in due course also reflect the dent caused by Indonesia banning palm oil exports, the source aware of central bank thinking said, indicating that there was no other option but to respond. "The idea is to have a smooth policy response, not to put in large cold turkey responses," the source said, making it clear that the preference is for smaller magnitude responses and not larger ones.
Titan was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding 1.39 per cent, followed by HDFC, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, Asian Paints, SBI, M&M, TCS, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank were among the winners, spurting as much as 3.25 per cent.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting over 8 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, ICIC Bank, Sun Pharma, SBI and Kotak Bank.
Analysts caution against volatility and recommend buying stocks of companies that are on strong fundamental footing that have been beaten down badly in the recent carnage.
India's rupee is likely to remain under pressure due to high prices of crude oil and other commodities, and may stabilise at around 79-80 against the US dollar in the near term, say experts amid limited headroom available with the Reserve Bank to check the weakening of the domestic currency. The currency has slumped over 5 per cent this year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent international crude oil prices soaring to a decade high. On Monday, rupee ended at a fresh all-time low of 78.34 (provisional) against the US dollar.
Given the economic trends, it might make sense to allocate some savings to gold.
As regards India, FIIs have pumped in over Rs 34,400 crore in the Indian stocks in calendar year 2021.
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, SBI, Kotak Bank and Dr Reddy's. NSE Nifty dropped 151.75 points to 15,727.90.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com After a brief respite at the year's start, FPIs have dumped shares worth more than $5.7 billion (Rs 42,596 crore), taking the cumulative net outflows since October to $10.5 billion (Rs 78,466 crore), and adding to the volatility on the bourses. The figure would have been a lot worse had it not been for net purchases to the tune of $5.7 billion in the primary market from October to date.
Investors with high risk appetite must stay invested while risk-averse investors can consider profit booking.
IT and ITeS companies accounted for $28.1 billion of the total investment pie during the first nine months of 2021.
Striking a different note from its peers, US brokerage Bank of America Securities has maintained that the Reserve Bank will leave rates unchanged next week, recognising growth-focused and capex-driven fiscal expansion, which though poses huge price pressure and interest rate risks later. The RBI's rate setting panel Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will begin its deliberations next Monday and announce the policy moves on Wednesday (February 9) in the backdrop of a massive spike in bond yields post the Budget. Almost all major central banks are in the process of hiking rates to tame inflation.
'Sectors that had been left out till now will also start participating in the rally.'
The Sensex closed 202 points lower to end at 26,838.
The finance ministry said the sharp inflows last fiscal were due to the government's policy initiatives and economic recovery.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, HDFC, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank. NSE Nifty declined 45.75 points to 16,568.85.
Stocks offering attractive dividends contain downside better when the markets correct, advises Sarbajeet K Sen.
'A soft landing of the Indian economy would be a long-term positive for the equity markets.'
The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices.
Despite unprecedented levels of uncertainty in Samvat 2077, investors have little to complain about on the returns front. The BSE Sensex delivered returns of 38 per cent in this period, while the Nifty registered a return of over 40 per cent. As is the case in bull markets, companies in the small- and mid-capitalisation basket outperformed the benchmarks, with returns almost twice those of frontliners.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 8 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC, Axis Bank and SBI. On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and ONGC were among the laggards.
'Investors should keep them on their radar and invest over a longer time frame, and expect some of these companies to bite the dust.'
The 30-share Sensex ended at 25,706 down 151 points.
HDFC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Titan.
'Earning expectations remain strong.'
The S&P BSE Sensex gained 57 points to end at 26,064.
There has been a stellar rise for the Indian markets this far in calendar year 2021 (CY21) with the S&P BSE Sensex surging over 19 per cent. The gain in mid-and small-cap indices on the BSE has been sharper with both these indexes surging around 38 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively during this period. Rampant spread of Covid pandemic's Delta variant and the ensuing lockdown and mobility curbs across India, rising prices key commodities, including crude oil and its impact on inflation, possibility of tightening of policy stance by major global central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) have been some of the key headwinds that the markets successfully negotiated during this period.
The 30-share Sensex ended up 390 points at 26,637 and the 50-share Nifty closed 118 points higher at 7,961.
Exposure to debt funds and gold is essential even if current returns from these asset classes are low, suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
India needs foreign exchange buffer reserves to insulate itself from exchange rate volatility as we have "no friends" for swap lines and Japan was the only country that helped during the taper tantrum in 2013, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Tuesday. Participating in a virtual event organised by economic think tank NCAER, Rajan said during the taper tantrum in 2013, India asked for swap lines, and only country who helped was Japan. "We need this (foreign exchange) reserve buffer to insulate ourselves because we have no friends.
A total of 49 companies raised Rs 81,615 crore in Samvat 2077, more than the preceding four years and almost double the amount raised in the previous year. Samvat 2078 appears even more promising with mega issues of Paytm and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. However, Paytm's record could be short-lived as state-owned LIC is planning to launch a Rs 1-trillion IPO by March 2022.
Indian markets on Thursday shrugged off any negative impact.
Many believe that the surge in the markets defy economic reality and is being fuelled by aggressive monetary easing by central banks across the world.
Index heavyweight RIL surged 3% to end above Rs 1,000 mark while IT majors were also the top gainers.
After opening higher, the markets continued to trade in the positive zone in the afternoon session as traders were encouraged by RBI governor Shaktikanta Das's statement that the new resolution framework is expected to give durable relief to borrowers amid the Covid-19 crisis, said Narendra Solanki, head-equity research (fundamental), Anand Rathi.