Benchmark BSE Sensex settled above the 63,000-level for the first time on Wednesday, extending its winning momentum to seventh day amid a largely positive trend in global markets and continuous foreign fund inflows.
Pharma shares extended losses after the government's ban on combination drugs.
Industrial production and inflation data, quarterly earnings from IT majors and global trends would drive the equity markets in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Moreover, foreign fund trading activity, movement of the rupee and global crude oil prices would also dictate terms in the market, they added. Equity markets would remain closed on Friday for 'Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti'.
Macroeconomic data announcements, the Covid situation in China and global market cues would guide Dalal Street in the first week of trading in the New Year, analysts said. Markets would also keep a track on rupee movement, Brent crude oil prices and foreign fund investment trends. "As market players attempt to understand the Fed's stance, Indian markets may respond in lockstep with their international counterparts when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes are made public later this week.
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has raised over 100,000 pounds ($124,410) to ensure vulnerable children who rely on free school meals every day are still fed now schools are closed due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Among Sensex stocks, SBI, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Ultratech Cement, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, Wipro and M&M were the major losers. On the other hand, HUL advanced the most by 1.14 per cent. Maruti, Tata Steel, NTPC and Sun Pharma also posted gains.
Except for September quarter, which had net inflows of $196 million, all other quarters had outflows.
Equity and oil markets can breathe easy for now, as the developments in Russia are unlikely to trigger a runaway rally in crude oil prices, said analysts. India, which imports nearly 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement, has been dependent on cheap Russian oil over the past few months to keep inflation - a sore point for the equity markets - in check. For the Indian markets that are expected to remain volatile amid these developments, analysts believe, the progress of monsoon, fund flows - both foreign institutional investor (FII) and domestic - and the upcoming corporate earnings season back home remain key.
India builds up record FX after Fed hints rate hike in future.
'For someone who wants to invest for the future or his family, diversification is necessary.' 'Diversify across asset classes -- equities, gold, real estate, fixed income, commodities, and even cryptocurrency.'
A decision on the interest rate for close to 60 million active subscribers of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is likely to be taken in the next Central Board of Trustee (CBT) meeting, starting on March 25. A letter from the social security organisation regarding the convening of the 233rd CBT meeting was sent to all the board members last week, soliciting their presence in the meeting. Although the venue and the agenda haven't been drawn out yet, sources familiar with the matter say that the interest rate is unlikely to go below 8 per cent level amid a rising interest rate scenario across the globe.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net buyers in October after being net sellers in the previous month. In October, FPIs bought shares worth nearly Rs 8,430 crore ($1 billion) against net selling of Rs 13,405 crore ($1.6 billion) in September. Positive flows during three of the previous four months have pushed the domestic markets towards fresh all-time highs. At present, the Sensex and Nifty are less than 2 per cent shy of breaching record highs logged in October 2021. A rally in equity markets in the US and Europe is in hopes that the Federal Reserve may go soft on rate hikes after its November meeting.
Index heavyweight RIL surged 3% to end above Rs 1,000 mark while IT majors were also the top gainers.
The trend was visible in the early trade on Thursday as investors indulged in trimming their bets after the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's September meeting indicated a possible rate hike this year.
Among Sensex stocks, Tata Motors rose the most by 2.79 per cent. NTPC, Reliance Industries, Infosys, TCS, HDFC twins, Tata Motors, ITC, Power Grid and Bajaj Finserv were among the major gainers. Tata Steel fell the most by 1.22 per cent. L&T, Sun Pharmaceuticals, IndusInd Bank and Ultratech Cement were among the losers.
Nobutaka Kitajima, chief investment officer -- equity, LIC Nomura Mutual Fund, tells Business Standard the reaction to the Fed's statements has been overdone and the current downturn has punished certain stocks much more than their inherent economic worth and business potential.
As regards India, FIIs have pumped in over Rs 34,400 crore in the Indian stocks in calendar year 2021.
Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 515 points on Thursday to reclaim the 59,000-level, propelled by heavy buying in IT, banking and financial stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflows. The 30-share BSE index ended 515.31 points or 0.88 per cent higher at 59,332.60. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty gained 124.25 points or 124.25 per cent to close at 17,659.
The Lok Sabha elections in 2024 are not a consideration when it comes to monetary policymaking, said Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das to underscore the central bank's commitment to controlling inflation. "It's not possible for me to comment what we do in the next MPC (Monetary Policy Committee), but one thing I can tell and I would like to make it very clear-that the fact of elections coming up in 2024 is not a factor at all so far as monetary policymaking is concerned. "Monetary policymaking is for checking (and) controlling inflation," Das said at the Business Standard, BFSI Insight Summit.
Experts say foreign investor sentiment was bolstered by the US Federal Reserve's decision to go slow with interest rate hikes and hopes of political stability.
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.
For one thing, US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was perhaps right in postponing the quantitative easing taper even though the markets had complained at that time that they were primed for some reduction in QE3 and the Fed had missed an opportunity to execute their plans without causing too much of a flutter.
Quite fed up with the state government's dilly-dally approach in repealing the ULCA in September, while releasing the grant of around Rs 400 crore under the JNURM, the Centre had warned the state government that if it did not repeal the ULCA, funding under the JNURM scheme would be stopped. Subsequently, the state legislature had passed a Bill to repeal the ULCA in the recently concluded winter session of the Assembly.
The collapse of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in the US might create temporary liquidity issues but will not have any significant impact on the Indian crypto market in the long run, officials from several exchanges told Business Standard. All three banks are considered crypto-friendly. SVB offered services such as cryptocurrency custody and lending.
Sensex,Nifty to remain under pressure through the week.
Benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty closed lower by nearly 1 per cent on Tuesday amid fresh foreign fund outflows and mixed global trends. The 30-share BSE benchmark fell by 497.73 points or 0.89 per cent to settle at 55,268.49, extending its losses for second straight day. During the day, it tanked 562.79 points or 1 per cent to 55,203.43. The broader NSE Nifty declined by 147.15 points or 0.88 per cent to 16,483.85.
Investors' wealth tumbled over Rs 5.78 lakh crore in two days of market fall amid a weak trend in global markets after a host of central banks hiked interest rates and gave hawkish commentary. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 461.22 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at 61,337.81 on Friday. In the previous trade, the BSE benchmark had tanked 878.88 points or 1.40 per cent to settle at 61,799.03.
Seven consecutive sessions of decline in the equity market has eroded the wealth of investors by a whopping Rs 10.42 lakh crore and the benchmark Sensex has tumbled more than 2,000 points during this period. Concerns over more rate hikes by developed economies, weak global equity markets and fresh foreign fund outflows from the domestic market have dented investor sentiments. On Monday, the BSE Sensex dropped 175.58 points or 0.30 per cent to end at 59,288.35 points, marking a decline for seven straight trading sessions.
'Hope they don't tinker around with capital gains tax in any way.'
In the Sensex pack, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Infosys, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, RIL, Bajaj Auto, SBI, HUL, Tata Steel, Vedanta, HFDC, TCS, ITC and Sun Pharma jumped up to 4.64 per cent.
India's tennis ace Sania Mirza, on Saturday, was appointed as playing captain of India's Fed Cup team, which will seek to make it to Group I grade of Asia/Oceania zone in Hyderabad from April 14.
'A soft landing of the Indian economy would be a long-term positive for the equity markets.'
The country has enough forex reserves to meet the demand.
As markets complete the first half of the calendar year 2022 (CY22) with a fall of around 9 per cent, the interest-rate hike trajectory by global central banks, paired with the conundrum of inflation and growth, will move the needle for the market, observe experts. Here's a quick rundown on what they'll react to over the next six months.
'Recent underperformance notwithstanding, equities should constitute a major part of investors' financial portfolio.'
One small interest rate hike of one-quarter of a percentage point is unlikely to have much impact on your budget
'As we expect the economy to continue to grow above the trend line, we expect capex decisions to be taken next year when there is more certainty about the cost of funding and the economy.'
Benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded by 344 points while Nifty closed above the 16,000 level in choppy trade on Friday, snapping the four-day falling streak on renewed buying interest from foreign funds and firm global trends. The 30-share BSE barometer climbed 344.63 points or 0.65 per cent to settle at 53,760.78. During the day, it jumped 395.22 points or 0.73 per cent to 53,811.37.
For the first time, the rupee declined to the low level of 80 against the US dollar in intra-day spot trading on Monday before ending the session 16 paise lower at 79.98 amid a surge in crude oil prices and unrelenting foreign fund outflows. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 79.76 against the greenback but lost ground to touch the psychological low mark of 80 against the American currency. The local unit clawed back some lost ground and closed at 79.98, registering a fall of 16 paise over its previous close.
Half the stocks in the Nifty 100 index have seen a reduction in their target price by analysts this year due to fears of lacklustre earnings growth and uncertain economic environment. Adani Green Energy, FSN E-Commerce (Nykaa), Adani Ports & SEZ and Indus Towers are among the companies that have seen the maximum cut in TPs during the first three months of calendar 2023, shows Bloomberg data. On the other hand, Canara Bank, JSW Steel and Bank of Baroda have seen the highest increase in TPs.