Petrol and diesel price hikes are likely to resume after state elections get over next week to bridge the Rs 9 a litre gap created by international oil prices soaring past $100 a barrel. International crude oil prices shot above $110 a barrel for the first time since mid-2014 on fears that oil and gas supplies from energy giant Russia could be disrupted, either by the conflict in Ukraine or retaliatory western sanctions. The basket of crude oil India buys rose above $102 per barrel on March 1, the highest since August 2014, according to information from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry.
The faster-than-expected rise in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) shook global financial markets in early 2022. And now the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has lifted commodity prices, with Brent crude oil hitting a 14-year high of $139 a barrel in intraday trade. All these developments have sent the equity markets across the world into a tailspin.
The operating margin of India Inc is likely to drop in the December quarter with a 100-120 bps year-on-year decline, as 27/40 sectors are set to see crimped margins despite higher revenue, according to a report. Surging commodity prices and price hikes may help companies report a healthy 16-17 per cent revenue growth to Rs 9.1 lakh crore during the quarter ending December, the Crisil report said on Tuesday. Software major TCS will open the earnings season Wednesday.
ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel, RIL and HDFC emerged as the biggest losers
Benchmark share indices opened lower on Monday, amid weak global cues, as investors turned cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve stance on interest rate.
CARE Ratings, in a report, said it foresees an increase in the retail prices of petrol and diesel in the coming few days, depending on how the oil markets react in the reduction in supply from the cartel.
ICICI Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, falling around 3 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, M&M and HDFC were among the gainers.
TCS was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling over 3 per cent, followed by Titan, ICICI Bank, SBI, ITC and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, NTPC, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the top gainers.
Equity benchmarks continued their winning momentum for the third day on Thursday and jumped over 1.50 per cent, tracking an overall bullish trend in Asian equities. On the political front, the BJP headed for a second straight win in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh and dominated the trends chart in three other states. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex opened in the green and further zoomed 1,595.14 points or 2.91 per cent to 56,242.47 during early trade.
Equity benchmarks began the week on a downbeat note on Monday, weighed by heavy selling in market heavyweight Reliance Industries and persisting weakness in global bourses. The rupee plunged to its lifetime low against the US dollar amid unabated foreign fund outflows, underscoring the risk-off sentiment prevailing globally as central banks embark on policy tightening to tame soaring inflation. Slipping for the second straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex shed 364.91 points or 0.67 per cent to close at 54,470.67.
Benchmark indices bounced back on Wednesday after falling for five straight sessions, with investors snapping up the recently-mauled IT, finance and consumption stocks amid a supportive trend overseas. A rebounding rupee further bolstered sentiment, traders said. Halting its five-session slide, the BSE Sensex jumped 574.35 points or 1.02 per cent to finish at 57,037.50. Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 177.90 points or 1.05 per cent to 17,136.55.
Reliance Industries was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, falling 2.62 per cent, followed by Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, M&M and SBI.
Rupee falls 5 paise against dollar, ends at 61.92.
On the Sensex chart, NTPC, SBI, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and Bjaja Finance were among the major laggards, shedding as much as 1.63 per cent.
Bharti Airtel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 4 per cent, followed by Maruti, Bajaj Finance, HUL, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank. On the other hand, Tata Steel, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, Reliance Industries and TCS were among the gainers.
At BSE, 1,799 scrips declined and 714 advanced, while 184 remained unchanged.
The US Fed interest rate decision, domestic macroeconomic data announcements and ongoing quarterly earnings are some of the major factors that will drive the stock markets in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Besides, monthly auto sales numbers and the LIC IPO will also remain in focus, they added. Equity markets will remain closed on Tuesday for Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan Id). "The market is likely to kick off this week on a sombre note after a sharp fall in the US market then the focus will shift to the outcome of the US FOMC meeting, which is crucial amid record inflation and growth worries.
Shares of the HDFC duo led the fall in the indices, shedding up to 2.94 per cent. IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, PowerGrid and SBI were among the other major laggards.
In the Sensex pack, HDFC, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Asian Paints, Mahindra and Mahindra and TCS were the prominent gainers. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra and SBI were among the major laggards. On the other hand, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank were trading in the red.
The broader Nifty closed at 11,993.05, falling by 233.60 points, or 1.91 per cent. On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance was the top loser, dropping 4.63 per cent, followed by SBI, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and RIL
Kotak Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 8 per cent, followed by TCS, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech and ONGC. On the other hand, Titan, HUL, PowerGrid, NTPC and Nestle India were among the laggards. NSE Nifty advanced 126.60 points, or 1.38 per cent, to settle at 9,313.90.
Top losers in the Sensex pack included IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, Yes Bank, HCL Tech, HUL and Hero MotoCorp, falling up to 4.36 per cent.
Come December, India may have to re-evaluate purchases of Russian oil if a price cap on crude oil proposed by the US and the European Union (EU) comes into effect. That impacts nearly a quarter of India's oil purchases that come at a discount, helping limit marketing losses for India's state refiners and enabling New Delhi to manage inflation by freezing pump prices of motor fuels. In September, India imported 1 million barrels a day or 24 per cent of its overall imports from Russia, which became the biggest supplier of oil to India.
Asian Paints was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, falling around 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and HCL Tech were among the gainers.
Lower crude prices mean less government outlay for India,
US crude is now more than 17 per cent below its opening price at the start of the month and Brent is down more than 16 per cent.
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.01 per cent, followed by M&M, Maruti, Asian Paints, PowerGrid, ITC and Axis Bank.
India's foreign exchange reserves declined by a whopping $4.343 billion to $367.646 billion.
Among top losers that dragged down key indices were Infosys, TCS, Reliance, SBI, Tata Steel and ITC, falling up to 2.15 per cent.
The domestic currency has dropped by 62 paise or 0.93 per cent in four trading days.
Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 4 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, HDFC, Kotak Bank, M&M and HCL Tech. NSE Nifty advanced 21.85 points to 16,280.10.
Investor sentiment got a big push after Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped below the USD 73-mark to quote at a seven-month low of USD 72.65 by falling 3.48 per cent, traders said.
Tech Mahindra was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, followed by Tata Steel, Mahindra and Mahindra, HCL Tech, Infosys, SBI and Bajaj Finance.
On the Sensex chart, losses were mainly driven by Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Maruti and SBI -- falling as much as 6.19 per cent.
Top losers in the Sensex pack included Tata Steel, Vedanta, Maruti, SBI, Coal India, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, HUL, RIL, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC duo, ICICI Bank, M&M, Kotak Bank, and Infosys, falling up to 2.89 per cent.
The stubbornly high global crude oil prices are opening up a can of worms to heightened inflation risks and likely to disrupt government's fiscal maths along with deteriorating global financial conditions.
Top losers in the Sensex pack included TCS, Yes Bank, ITC, Sun Pharma, Reliance, Coal India, Asian Paints, SBI, Maruti, HUL, HCL Tech and ICICI Bank, falling up to 2.91 per cent.
The reference case forecast takes into account the dire state of the world economy and expects global demand to fall by 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2009. It also does not foresee any further compliance by OPEC countries with the quota reductions announced last December. Dated Brent was expected to have average $45 per barrel in the first quarter, rising to $50.4 per barrel in the second and $51.8 per barrel in the third, then up to $53.4 per barrel.