Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended the choppy day of trade with modest gain as correcting global crude oil prices and a strengthening Japanese yen versus dollar also weighed on the domestic sentiment. Markets traded choppy throughout the session as investors opted to book some of their profit after two sessions of rally. But buying in last leg of trade helped markets to regain their green terrain with frontline gauges ending above their crucial 23,700 (Sensex) and 7,200 (Nifty) levels. Investors took comfort from with Moody's Investors Service stating that Indian economy will grow at 7.5 percent in 2016 and 2017 as it is relatively less exposed to external headwinds, like China slowdown, and will benefit from lower commodity prices.

On the global front, European shares edged lower in early trading on Friday at the end of a strong week with weakness among auto stocks and a disappointing update from Allianz weighing on the market. Asian markets ended mostly in red as a rally in oil prices reversed and investors remained cautious about the outlook for the global economy.

Closer home, some support came with report that foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 419 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data. The agri related stocks remained in limelight today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiling the operational guidelines for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Airline stocks flied high after most of them reported higher passenger load in January. Liquor stocks climbed on reports that prices of Indian made foreign liquor, beer and country liquor may rise steeply from April 1, 2016 following a hike in excise duty.

On the flip side, textile stocks edged lower despite the government expectation of Rs 30,000 crore investments in 74 textile parks and are plans to announce a new textile policy by April this year. Minister of State for Textile Santosh Gangwar has said that we are mainly focusing on manufacturing of value-added products and export-oriented goods that will benefit the economy.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty gained by around twenty points to end above the psychological 7,200 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex rose by around sixty points to finish above its psychological 23,700 mark. Broader markets struggled to get some traction and ended mixed.

The market breadth remained in favor of advances, as there were 1,292 shares on the gaining side against 1,216 shares on the losing side while 134 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 23709.15, up by 59.93 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 23508.36 and 23774.48. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.12%, while Small cap index up by 0.16%. (Provisional)

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.87%, TECK up by 0.56%, Power up by 0.41%, IT up by 0.40%, Bankex up by 0.33% while, Oil & Gas down by 1.00%, Capital Goods down by 0.16% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 3.29%, SBI up by 3.20%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.31%, Asian Paints up by 2.28% and NTPC up by 1.77%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.21%, BHEL down by 1.83%, Axis Bank down by 1.60%, Coal India down by 1.51% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.16% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected the Non Banking Financial Companies' (NBFCs) plea for undertaking the point of presence (POP) services for National Pension System (NPS). NBFCs had sought the central bank's approval for undertaking such services under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority for NPS. The central bank has examined the proposals and it has been decided, in public interest that NBFCs shall not undertake point of presence services for National Pension System.

The pension scheme is distributed through authorized entities called points of presence (POP) and almost all the banks are enrolled to act as POP. They are the first points of interaction of the pension subscriber with the NPS architecture under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The authorized branches of a POP, called point of presence service providers (POPSP), act as collection points and extend a number of customer services to NPS subscribers.

With an aim to provide financial security to every citizen by encouraging them to start contributing towards the old age saving, the NPS has been launched. The National Pension System, regulated by PFRDA is an attempt towards providing adequate retirement income to every citizen of India. NPS means the contributory pension system whereby contributions from subscribers along with matching contributions from respective governments as an employer, are collected and accumulated in an individual pension account.

The CNX Nifty ended at 7210.75, up by 19.00 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 7145.95 and 7226.85. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were PNB up by 5.11%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.38%, SBI up by 3.07%, Bosch up by 2.59% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.59%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 3.03%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.03%, BHEL down by 1.88%, Coal India down by 1.68% and Vedanta down by 1.58% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 22.6 points or 0.24% to 9,441.04 and France’s CAC was down by 0.59 points or 0.01% to 4,239.17, while UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 4.81 points or 0.08% to 5,976.76.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, as a rally in oil prices reversed. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its global growth forecasts and the minutes of the European Central Bank's January meeting showed growth and inflation risks are on the rise in the euro area, too weighed on Asian shares. Japanese shares ended lower on the yen's appreciation that triggered selling of export-linked issues amid weak sentiments brought by declines in the overnight US market. China's shares inched down as the People's Bank of China said it would intervene daily to influence the money supply. Hong Kong stocks tracked global markets lower as energy shares pulled back.