Equity markets braved all odds this fiscal and rewarded investors with high returns as the benchmark Sensex surged more than 66 per cent despite COVID-led disruptions and concerns over its impact on the economy. Market analysts termed FY 2020-21 as a roller coaster ride for not only Indian markets but also for equity indices globally due to the pandemic. In an unprecedented come back, the 30-share BSE Sensex has jumped 19,540.01 points or 66.30 per cent so far this fiscal. This extraordinary rally holds significance as markets faced volatile trends this fiscal.
From the BSE 30-share blue chip pack, 27 scrips ended with losses led by SBI and Tata Steel.
As if wanting to be an antidote to the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian stock market adorned carnival robes in 2021 with a tsunami of liquidity unleashed by global central banks coupled with supportive domestic policies and the world's largest vaccination drive sparking off a world-beating rally on Dalal Street, despite bouts of uneasiness over fizzy valuations. While the wider economy shuttled between recovery and relapse, dictated by multiple mutations of the virus, equity market benchmarks appeared headed in just one direction -- skywards. The dizzying upward journey has added a whopping Rs 72 lakh crore during 2021 to investors' wealth, measured as the cumulative value of all listed shares in the country, taking it to nearly Rs 260 lakh crore.
ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 18 per cent, followed by HUL, UltraTech Cement, RIL, TCS, HDFC, ITC and Asian Paints. Only HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank settled in the red. NSE Nifty zoomed 482 points, or 5.83 per cent, to close at 8,745.45.
The global COVID-19 situation, rollout of vaccines, geopolitical trends, Union Budget and economic recovery would be the major factors driving investor sentiments in 2021 after a tumultuous year which saw both 'the worst of times and the best of times' for the stock market, said analysts. What a year 2020 turned out to be! From witnessing gigantic losses to record-shattering gains, investors went on a roller-coaster ride amid the coronavirus pandemic and massive stimulus measures. Markets closed 2020 with remarkable gains of around 16 per cent, but will the winning ways continue in 2021 as well?
A recent report by Citi had pegged the total amount stuck in stalled projects across seven major Indian cities (Bengaluru, Mumbai Metropolitan region, National Capital Region, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune) at Rs 80,000 crore.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying up to 46 per cent. Other winners were Bharti Airtel, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, HUL and HDFC -- rising up to 10 per cent. On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and Reliance Industries closed with losses. NSE Nifty finished 323.60 points, or 3.89 per cent, up at 8,641.45.
Auto, pharma, IT, chemicals among sectors with significant reliance on UK and European nations with Tata Motors, Motherson Sumi, Tata Steel, TCS, Wipro, Infosys and Tech M among key names.
Yes Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 6.74 per cent, followed by TCS, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, M&M and RIL.
Concerns over economic slowdown, muted earnings, crisis in the auto industry and global trade issues have been weighing on investor sentiment, experts said.
A weak economy coupled with rising Covid-19 cases and inflation that is above RBI's comfort zone, geopolitical developments, and upcoming India Inc's second quarter results for FY21 could impact sentiment, analysts say.
'A bold, progressive step forward,' Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak said of Nirmala Sitharaman's corporate tax breaks.
While Geojit Financial Services and Kotak Securities are already managing large NRI portfolios in West Asian countries, Sharekhan, yet another local brokerage outfit, recently launched a broking platform called India First in Bangkok for NRI clients.
The broader NSE Nifty, on the other hand, ended 2.70 points, or 0.02 per cent, lower at 11,555.90 in its third straight day of losses.
On Friday, shares of Tata Motors rose by 2.68 per cent and Tata Steel went up by 1.85 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
The actual expenditure will only be marginally higher and hence, the multiplier effect will be muted.
The NSE Nifty settled at 10,234.65, down 225.45 points, or 2.16 per cent.
It appears that most experts feel that domestic markets are reacting to the fall seen in the global markets.\n\nHere's how experts view the turbulence today?
'The news about the new virus strain in the UK provided them with an opportunity to take money off the table.'
SBI was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.40 per cent, followed by Yes Bank, Bharti Airtel, L&T, Sun Pharma, M&M, ICICI Bank, ONGC, RIL, Asian Paints, Vedanta and HUL, which lost up to 2.37 per cent.
Over the past one-and-half years, the number of stocks trading below their respective face value has increased 29 per cent after a sharp correction in stocks of small-cap companies.
While capital appreciation is better, paying regular dividend indicates that the company is making profits and is rewarding investors.
After a sharp sell-off in the past two months, overseas investors were once again seen turning bullish on Indian equities. FIIs bought shares worth Rs 63.5 billion in the past five sessions, their highest weekly investment tally in many months.
'The announcement has come too late. This should have been done years ago.'
From its all-time peak of 38,989.65 scaled on August 29 this year, the Sensex has fallen by 2,921.32 points, or 7.5 per cent, to 36,068.33.
Reason for rejection hasn't been stated; deal among seven rejected transactions.
The NSE Nifty cracked below the 10,800-mark to hit a low of 10,753.05 intra-day, before closing at 10,762.45 with a loss of 59.40 points, or 0.55 per cent.
TCS is the country's most valued firm with a market capitalisation of Rs 687,123.96 crore
The Street was following the Karnataka election closely as a test for the Modi-led BJP's prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. Investors, however, are likely to wait for the next round of state elections to judge whether the momentum is still with it.
Infosys was the worst performer among the bluechips on both the key indices.
Amid heated debate on algorithm based trades, ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala today backed this form of trading, and questioned the need to regulate it.
Small stocks made a dashing comeback in 2020 after delivering negative returns in the last two years as increased retail investor participation in pandemic times saw small-cap index surging up to 31 per cent and outperforming the bigger benchmark gauge. This year turned out to be eventful for the equity market, witnessing bearish and bullish sentiments at different points of time. While the initial part of COVID-ravaged 2020 saw the bears in full force amid concerns related to the pandemic and lockdowns hurting economic activities, bulls made a comeback towards the latter half of the year. As the market swayed with many lows as well as highs, small and mid-cap indices emerged as markets favourites in 2020.
Progress of monsoon, investment trend by foreign investors and the movement of rupee against the dollar will also influence sentiment
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The broader NSE Nifty index too finished lower by 4.80 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 10,632.20.
The BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices pared all intraday gains to end 0.3% and 0.5% lower
NTPC was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, rising by 3.53 per cent. Coal India, ONGC and Sun Pharma also rose up to 2.41 per cent.
Gold prices are already moving fast to the key level of Rs 30,000 per 10 gms
Shares of IT companies were in focus with the Nifty IT and S&P BSE IT index gaining more than 2% in an otherwise lower market
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