ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying around 6 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, L&T, UltraTech Cement, Titan, SBI and NTPC. NSE Nifty settled 32.10 points up at 14,707.80.
Dr Reddy's was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 5 per cent, followed by M&M, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and TCS. NSE Nifty sank 306.05 points to finish at 14,675.70.
Over the next three - six months, UBS believes earnings will be the main driver for EM equities outperformance.
Industrial production contracted by 1.9 per cent in November, entering the negative territory after a two-month gap, mainly due to poor showing by manufacturing and mining sectors, official data showed on Tuesday. The manufacturing sector -- which constitutes 77.63 per cent of the index of industrial production (IIP) -- recorded a contraction of 1.7 per cent in November 2020, as per data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Mining sector output too witnessed a decline, shrinking 7.3 per cent.
SBI was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping around 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement and PowerGrid. NSE Nifty rose 36.40 points to 15,337.85.
Since existing laws do not cover Covid-19, any compensation in this regard has to be left to the discretion of companies.
Despite the Sensex's 74 per cent run-up over the past year, the Indian equity market could still reward investors if the expected revival in earnings materialises, according to market experts. Returns during the coming year are more likely to be in line with longer-term trends (the Sensex's five-year return is around 14 per cent). Several factors are expected to aid the market's performance this year.
ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 4 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, SBI, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Sun Pharma and ITC. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, Reliance, Bajaj Finserv and Asian Paints were among the gainers.
While Nifty 50 reflects changes in 40 years, it also shows what is missing: Low-cost manufacturers at one end, and deep-value players at the other. Also missing are technology players, observes T N Ninan.
Dr Reddy's was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, TCS, HCL Tech, Infosys and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.
Manufacturing sector production registered a decline of 17.1 per cent, while the output of mining and power fell 19.8 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.
Capital goods output rose by a robust 20 per cent in the month under review as against a contraction of 2.4 per cent earlier.
'As valuations of large-caps appeared to be out of whack, investors started lapping up quality mid-caps and small-caps, which were available at relatively comfortable valuations.'
Amid uncertainties arising out of the second wave of COVID-19, the Reserve Bank on Thursday said that a durable revival of private consumption and investment would be critical for sustaining economic growth post-pandemic. Observing that 2020-21 has left a scar on the economy, RBI in its annual report said, "in the midst of the second wave as 2021-22 commences, pervasive despair is being lifted by cautious optimism built up by vaccination drives." The second wave of the pandemic has prompted revision of growth projections for the current fiscal and the consensus appears to be gravitating towards RBI's forecast of 10.5 per cent, the report added.
Mid- and small-cap indices have outperformed the frontline benchmarks - the S&P BSE Sensex (up around 10 per cent) and the Nifty50 (13 per cent) - in the first half of calendar year 2021 (H1-CY21) by rallying 26 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively. The trend, analysts believe, is likely to continue in H2-CY21 as well. The outperformance in H1-CY21 comes on the back of improved earnings and strong inflows from the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in Indian equities. However, good monsoon so far, gradual opening up of the economy and the pick-up in the pace of vaccination provides support to the market.
Infrastructure, power, capital goods, PSU, healthcare, banking, oil and gas and metal stocks nosedived
As he projected a grim outlook for the economy, RBI Governor said that amidst this encircling gloom, agriculture and allied activities have provided a beacon of hope on the back of an increase of 3.7 per cent in foodgrains production to a new record.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pumped in a whopping $33.8 billion into domestic equities and debt till February 15 this fiscal year -- the highest since FY15 when it was nearly $46 billion --taking their net outstanding investments to a record $592.5 billion, as per a report. Of the total FPI assets of $592.5 billion, $537.4 billion were in equities and $51.38 billion in debt, according to the data collated by Care Ratings. The maximum holding is in financial services sector at $191.3 billion, followed by software ($76.1 billion), oil & gas ($50 billion), automobiles & auto components ($26.9 billion, pharmaceuticals & biotechnology ($22.8 billion), sovereign ($21.7 billion--debt), household & personal products ($20.2 billion), capital goods ($19.8 billion), food, beverages & tobacco ($15.7 billion) and insurance ($13.4 billion).
All Sensex components ended in green, with Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, L&T, TCS, ONGC and ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI gaining up to 6.64 per cent.
Sebi's move to curb volatility didn't work for the market as rules were applicable for both long and short positions which makes difficult new long positions while short positions caused more price damage due to lack of liquidity.
All BSE sectoral indices ended in the red, with oil and gas, bankex, capital goods and finance falling up to 3.04 per cent.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling around 3 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints. On the other hand, ONGC, PowerGrid and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.
Industrial production declined by 10.4 per cent in July, mainly due to lower output of manufacturing, mining and power generation, as per the government data released on Friday.
Retail inflation remained above the RBI's comfort level for the second consecutive month despite slipping slightly to 6.26 per cent in June while the factory output recorded a growth of 29.3 per cent in May, mainly on account of the base effect, the government data showed. The marginal slippage in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation was noticed despite little firmness witnessed in the food inflation which inched up to 5.15 per cent in June from 5.01 per cent a month ago. Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 6.3 per cent in May 2021 and 6.23 per cent in June 2020.
In terms of industries, 10 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector showed positive growth during November 2018.
Capital goods, a barometer of investments, showed a sharp increase in output by 14.6 per cent in January, 2018 as against a decline of 0.6 per cent year ago.
Thirteen companies have joined the Rs 1-trillion-plus market capitalisation club this year, so far. This even as the benchmark Sensex has gained less than 3 per cent on a year-to-date basis, underscoring the bullish undercurrent in the broader market. The trend shows a harsh second wave of Covid-19, subsequent lockdowns, and hit to the economic activity has made little dent into India Inc or shareholders' wealth. At the start of the year, there were 29 companies with a market value of more than Rs 1 trillion.
The government clarified that the majority of industrial establishments had reported nil production, and cautioned that the numbers should not be compared with those of previous months. "It is not appropriate to compare the IIP of April 2020 with that of earlier months, and users may like to observe the changes in the IIP in the following months," said the ministry of statistics & programme implementation.
Among the Sensex stocks, Tata Motors emerged as the top gainer, rising by 7 per cent. Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Vedanta Ltd and Tata Steel were among the gainers.
'They can shift to dynamic asset allocation funds to automatically rebalance their equity exposure.'
HDFC Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Titan, SBI, HUL, HDFC and Tata Steel. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, M&M, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and PowerGrid were among the gainers.
Output of capital goods -- a proxy for infrastructure investments in the country -- contracted 1 per cent in July
'The manufacturing sector and the capital goods industry need all the support that the government can provide, because they are working in a global market where trade restrictions are coming down every day,' says Amar Kaul.
L&T was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 4.81 per cent, followed by M&M, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, SBI, ICICI Bank and Titan.
'The growth drivers are mostly invisible, but the growth is undeniable at least for now,' notes Debashis Basu.
'In the short term, we may see some disruptions due to Covid, but in the medium-to-long term, we should keep an eye on US inflation and 10-year bond yields.'
'It is going to be a buyers' market and you will get a good number of companies at reasonable valuations and that's when one has to be very greedy.'
The ministry of statistics and programme implementation on Friday released quick estimates of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) which showed the index value at 88.4 in May against 53.6 in April, indicating a graded pickup in industrial activity. The index stood at 135.4 in May 2019.
'When fund managers talk of being bullish for the long term, they assume strong economic growth.' 'That is what they have assumed every year, naively believing the pronouncements and promises of ministers.' 'Unfortunately, they have been wrong year after year,' observes Debashis Basu, editor, www.moneylife.in.
L&T was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting over 6 per cent, followed by Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC and HCL Tech. On the other hand, ITC, SBI and Bharti Airtel ended in the red.