Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks traded on a lackluster note and closed in red with a cut of around four tenth of a percent. Caution prevailed as investors were not keen to raise bets at the prevailing record levels despite the start of May Futures and Options series in the derivatives segment. The equity benchmarks made a pessimistic start in early deals as investors’ maintained cautious approach over US-South Korea free trade pact. Traders failed to draw any support from the International Monetary Fund Managing Director’s statement that the Goods and Services Tax to be implemented from July 1 would help raise India’s medium-term growth to above eight per cent, as it will enhance production and the movement of goods and services across Indian states. Investors took note of the analysis of growth projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which highlighted that India will overtake Germany in 2022 as the world’s fourth-largest economy and push Britain out of the top five. But the challenges the South Asian nation must surmount to get there are many. These include executing a wide-ranging overhaul of the tax system, sorting out the biggest pile of distressed assets among major economies, reviving lackluster productivity, substantially increasing employment opportunities, encouraging corporate investment and overcoming a significant infrastructure shortfall. Select PSU banking stocks closed on a firm note taking support from the report that in a fresh approach to tackle bad loans in state-run banks, the government is looking at possible takeover of troubled projects by state-run firms operating in related sectors. The government has asked all banks to identify top 50 non-performing assets (NPA) in each sector.

On the global front, Asian markets closed mostly in red, as investors took profits after a strong week, while the Korean won weakened after US President Donald Trump said he would renegotiate or terminate a trade deal with South Korea. Japan’s industrial output fell 2.1 percent in March from the previous month, in a sign of a temporary slowdown in production. China’s main stock indexes were little changed but posted worst month of the year on fears that regulators will step up their latest crackdown on riskier types of financing and speculation and on lingering worries over economic growth. European markets were trading mostly in green with earnings taking centre stage. Consumer price inflation (CPI) in the euro zone increased more than expected in April.

The BSE Sensex ended at 29915.72, down by 114.02 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 29848.21 and 30067.64. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.66%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.43%, PSU up by 1.31%, Auto up by 0.64%, Consumer Disc up by 0.44% and Basic Materials up by 0.31%, while Realty down by 1.79%, FMCG down by 1.28%, Telecom down by 0.84%, TECK down by 0.70% and IT down by 0.66% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 4.04%, SBI up by 2.39%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.18%, Asian Paints up by 1.61% and GAIL India up by 1.29%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, ITC down by 2.33%, HDFC down by 1.98%, HDFC Bank down by 1.42%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.27% and TCS down by 1.19% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in order to make new National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy successful, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has expressed need of an ecosystem to take this policy to a logical end even before it is commercialized and noted that partnering with industry associations, bringing in global players will be necessary along with finding out angel investors to create an ecosystem.

Noting that India is home to many new ideas, Union Railway Minister has said that there is a huge scope for innovation, when the country put these ideas in infrastructure and added that India could become a $ 10 trillion economy in the course of next decade and a half. He also suggested to use innovation in information, communication technology (ICT) to make lives of people better thereby addressing social issues through business products.

The railway minister further said that India could be the leader of the innovation process and to achieve this, the Country’s innovators who have done well need to be recognized, stressing the need to develop plans and industry partnerships. He further said that innovation is going to make India's march towards reaching magic figure faster.

The CNX Nifty ended at 9304.65, down by 37.50 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 9282.25 and 9342.65. There were 26 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.33%, Bank of Baroda up by 3.78%, SBI up by 2.80%, Hindalco up by 2.34% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.17%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 3.33%, ITC down by 2.66%, BPCL down by 2.40%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.00% and HDFC down by 1.88% were the top losers. (Provisional)

The European markets were trading mostly in green; Germany’s DAX increased 6.94 points or 0.06% to 12,450.73, France’s CAC increased 7.02 points or 0.13% to 5,278.72, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 22.14 points or 0.31% to 7,215.03.

Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Friday, reacting to a mixed bag of US earnings and US President Donald Trump's warning of a ‘major, major conflict’ between the US and North Korea weighing on markets. Trump said a major conflict with North Korea was possible over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. A slew of US earnings released after the closing bell on Thursday have been less inspiring. While Google parent Alphabet and Amazon reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, Intel and Microsoft reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue. Starbucks' same-store sales also failed to meet Wall Street expectations. Japanese shares lost ground as investors digested a barrage of economic data. Japan's industrial output fell 2.1 percent in March from the previous month after a 3.2 percent gain in February, government data showed. The jobless rate held steady at 2.8 percent in the month, household spending fell more than expected and consumer price inflation remained stagnant at 0.2 percent, while retail sales raised more than expected, separate reports showed. Meanwhile, Chinese shares ended higher, but posted worst month of the year on fears that regulators will step up their latest crackdown on riskier types of financing and speculation, and on lingering worries over economic growth.