Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks traded above neutral line throughout the day and ended with gains of around half a percent. Buying at last hour of trade on account of roll-over of long position in Futures & Options (F&O) segment pulled the markets higher with Nifty surpassing 10,600 mark. Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start and traded in green terrain in early deals. The sentiments were upbeat after the Commerce Department data enlightened that India’s global trade increased by 16.32% to $767.9 billion in 2017-18. In 2016-17, the trade stood at $660.2 billion. The data further highlighted that while India’s global trade grew by 16.32% between 2016-17 and 2017-18, India’s total trade with LAC (Latin American countries) grew by 19.63%. It said that bilateral trade with LAC including Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Brazil has recorded healthy growth in 2017-18 as per the provisional numbers.  Separately, bolstering the government’s credentials on job creation, for the first time, payroll data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and the National Pension System (NPS) showed at least 2.2 million formal jobs were added over the six months to February. The EPFO data shows 3.1 million new additions across age groups over this period. The data will provide comfort to the government which has been facing criticism over sluggish job creation.

Meanwhile, buoyed by the forecast of a normal monsoon this year, the agriculture ministry has targeted a record 283.7 million tonnes of foodgrain production in 2018-19, about 6 million tonnes or 2% higher than the estimated 277.5 million tonnes produced the year before. If these targets are met, it would mean the third straight year of food production surpassing the previous year’s record. The street took note of foreign brokerage report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to hike key policy rates by 25 basis points in June, largely on account of sharp increase in crude oil prices over the last few months. The report added that higher global crude oil prices are net negative for the Indian economy in almost all aspects - inflation, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, rupee etc. - and may need a pre-emptive response from the central bank to reduce pipeline risks and strengthen domestic and external macro stability. Mixed reactions were witnessed in banking stocks after RBI data showed that banks’ credit rose 11.52 percent year-on-year to Rs 84,78,459 crore in the fortnight ended April 13. In the same period ended April 14, 2017, banks advances were at Rs 76,01,970 crore. In the previous fortnight ended March 30, 2018, banks loans grew by 10.32 percent to Rs 86,50,714 crore from Rs 78,41,466 crore in the period ended March 31.

On the global front, Asian markets closed mixed. South Korea’s economy bounced back last quarter, buoyed by booming exports of data memory chips and a boost from government spending, although private consumption was sluggish. Bank of Korea GDP report showed the economy expanded 1.1 percent in the first quarter, rebounding after contracting by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter. The European markets were trading in green as investors monitored a fresh batch of corporate earnings. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that he anticipated Greece could emerge from its bailout later this year without any precautionary credit line set aside for the country.

Back home, Shah Alloys was locked at upper circuit on entering into settlement agreement with Assets Reconstruction Company India (ARCIL) in respect of credit facilities availed by the company and the settled amount to be paid up to December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2022 respectively.

The BSE Sensex ended at 34721.63, up by 220.36 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 34505.62 and 34747.97. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.01%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.19%, FMCG up by 1.18%, Bankex up by 0.99%, TECK up by 0.58% and Consumer Durables up by 0.45%, while Telecom down by 2.65%, Realty down by 0.87%, Capital Goods down by 0.49%, PSU down by 0.44% and Healthcare down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 9.01%, IndusInd Bank up by 2.34%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.22%, TCS up by 1.91% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.68%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.92%, Wipro down by 2.02%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 2.01%, SBI down by 1.85% and Tata Steel down by 1.25% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in order to fund the ‘Innovate in India for Inclusiveness Project’, the Government of India has signed a loan agreement for IBRD credit of $125 million with the World Bank.

As per the Ministry of Finance’s notification, the project consists of three parts -- strengthening of pilot-to market innovation ecosystem, acceleration of the pilot-to-market process for specific products and project management and monitoring & evaluation, and the closing date of the project is June 30, 2023.

The government’s ‘Innovate in India for Inclusiveness project’ will nurture indigenous innovation, foster local product development and accelerate commercialization process by bridging critical skill and infrastructure gaps to promote affordable and innovative healthcare products generation for inclusive development and increasing competitiveness in India. The project is also expected to support consortia of public, private, and the academic institutions to overcome the key market failures currently holding back the development of an innovative biopharmaceutical and medical devices industry in India.

The CNX Nifty ended trading at 10616.35, up by 45.80 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 10559.65 and 10628.40. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 9.07%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.32%, IndusInd Bank up by 2.18%, Eicher Motors up by 1.85% and TCS up by 1.85%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.82%, Lupin down by 2.79%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.47%, Wipro down by 2.04% and SBI down by 1.79% were the top losers. (Provisional)

The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.48 points or 0.18% to 7,392.80, Germany’s DAX increased 25.42 points or 0.2% to 12,447.72 and France’s CAC increased 25.86 points or 0.48% to 5,439.16.

Asian equity markets ended mixed on Thursday as concerns over rising bond yields tempered investors' optimism on the earnings front. Traders also awaited rate decisions from both the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. Chinese shares ended lower amid growing fears of a trade war with the United States. Meanwhile, Japanese shares rose amid widespread gains in the technology sector following upbeat earnings results from the likes of Texas Instruments, Facebook and AMD.