Post Session: Quick Review

Domestic equity markets bid-adieu ‘2015’ on a bullish note on Thursday. It was a decent finish to the sluggish year of trade during which the key indices declined by 5% (Sensex) and 4% (Nifty). Volatility was at a higher side during last leg of session as F&O traders rolled over their positions to next month contracts. Though, markets made a cautious start and traded choppy for most part of the day’s trade as investors remained concerned with head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde stating that global economic growth will be ‘disappointing’ next year. She said the prospect of rising interest rates in the US and an economic slowdown in China were contributing to uncertainty and a higher risk of economic vulnerability worldwide. Meanwhile, Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that Indian economy needs to grow by extra 1-1.5 percentage points to sustain wage hike and other benefits given to workers and the poor.

However, markets shifted gear and a sudden spike-up witnessed in last leg of trade helped Sensex to regain its crucial 26,100 mark, while Nifty ended tad below its crucial 7,950 level on the back of buying in front line blue chip counters. Traders turned optimistic as India outpaced China as the world’s fastest growing economy in 2015 and is expected to clock 7-7.5 percent growth in the New Year provided the reform momentum continues and the business environment improves. Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be sold at concessional rates during odd hours of the day to reduce the rush at CNG pumps.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red in early deals tracking weak U.S. cues and a weak trend in Asia ahead of the impending New Year’s holiday. Trading volume remained thin as many European markets remained close today for New Year’s Eve. Asian markets ended mostly in red as the slide in oil prices and a firmer dollar on concerns about slower global growth sapped investors' appetite for risk.

Back home, some support came in with report that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 152.20 crore on Wednesday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Appreciation in Indian rupee too aided sentiments. The partially convertible rupee was trading at 66.16 per dollar at the time of equity market closing against the Wednesday’s close of 66.39 on the Interbank Foreign Exchange.

Stocks related to telecom space edged higher, on report that India’s mobile phone subscriber base peaked to more than 1 billion users for the first time. Companies related to insurance business viz. Aditya Birla Nuvo, Max India and Bajaj Finserv remained in lime light, as the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has said that the existing micro insurance products will continue to be on offer till March 31, 2016. However, select stocks related to metal and mining counters edged lower, as weak response from bidders amid depressed commodity prices and market conditions has forced the government to call off the fourth round of coal block auctions meant for deregulated industries such as steel and cement.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty rose by fifty points and ended near the psychological 7,950 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex surged by around one hundred and twenty points to finish above the psychological 26,100 mark. Broader markets too were traded with traction throughout the trade and ended the session with a gain of around half a percentage point.

The market breadth remained in favor of advances, as there were 1,462 shares on the gaining side against 1,167 shares on the losing side while 282 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 26117.54, up by 157.51 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 25941.91 and 26147.63. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.35%, while Small cap index up by 0.49%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.52%, Telecom up by 1.35%, TECK up by 1.18%, IT up by 1.09% and Utilities up by 1.08%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.21%, Healthcare down by 0.15%, Bankex down by 0.09%, Capital Goods down by 0.08% were the few losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 2.39%, Coal India up by 1.85%, Infosys up by 1.83%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.37% and Sun Pharma up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.24%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.11%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.67%, ICICI Bank down by 0.63% and SBI down by 0.62% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in a bid to attract more investments and create over 3 million jobs, the government has approved the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) in place of the existing Revised Restructured TUFS for technology upgradation of the textiles industry. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Union textiles minister Santosh Gangwar said that this move is expected to attract investment to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore and create over 3 million jobs by 2022. ATUFS aims to boost employment generation and exports in the industry by promoting the emerging technical textiles sector. The amendments in the scheme are expected to plug the loopholes in the earlier scheme and improve ease of doing business. The scheme would be implemented and monitored online under iTUFS, launched in April, 2015.

A budget provision of Rs 17,822 crore has been approved, of which Rs. 12,671 crore is for committed liabilities under the ongoing scheme, and Rs. 5,151 crore is for new cases under ATUFS. All cases pending with the Office of Textile Commissioner which are complete in all respects shall be provided assistance under the ongoing scheme and the new scheme will be given prospective effect.

Under the new scheme there will be two broad categories apparel, garment and technical textiles and other sub-sectors. The first category will receive 15% subsidy on capital investment, subject to Rs 30 crore ceiling over five years. The remaining sub-sectors would be eligible for subsidy at a rate of 10%, subject to a ceiling of Rs 20 crore. The new scheme specifically targets employment generation and export by encouraging apparel and garment industry, which will provide employment to women in particular and increase India’s share in global exports, promotion of Technical Textiles, a sunrise sector, for export and employment, promoting conversion of existing looms to better technology looms for improvement in quality and productivity and encouraging better quality in processing industry and checking need for import of fabrics by the garment sector.

Further, office of Textile Commissioner (TXC) is being reorganised; its offices shall be set up in each state. Officers of the TXC shall be closely associated with entrepreneurs for setting up the industry, including processing proposals under the new scheme, verifying assets created jointly with the bankers and maintaining close liaison with the State Government agencies.

The CNX Nifty ended at 7946.35, up by 50.10 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 7891.15 and 7955.55. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 2.44%, Coal India up by 2.39%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.19%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.11% and GAIL India up by 1.89%. On the flip side, PNB down by 1.78%, Vedanta down by 1.69%, Axis Bank down by 1.32%, Yes Bank down by 1.15% and Ambuja Cement down by 0.93% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; France’s CAC decreased 16.26 points or 0.35% to 4,660.88 and UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 16.19 points or 0.26% to 6,257.86.

Asian equity markets ended mostly in red on the final trading day of 2015 as a renewed slide in oil prices weighed on energy stocks and worries about slowing growth in China kept investors nervous. Chinese shares finished a volatile 2015 on a sour note, sliding almost one percent on the final day of trading as the Yuan slipped to a 4-1/2-year low against the dollar, but still jumped almost 10 percent over the year. However, holidays limited the damage in Asian markets on Thursday with many either closed or shutting early. Japan was one of the markets closed on Thursday, though it was also one of the better performers this year with gains of 9.1 percent for the Nikkei. Stock markets in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore closed early today for New Year's Eve. Markets in South Korea, and Indonesia were closed for holidays.