Post Session: Quick Review

Snapping a three-session losing run, Indian equity benchmarks ended Thursday’s trade on an optimistic note, with key gauges recapturing their crucial 38,200 (Sensex) and 11,500 (Nifty) bastions. The benchmarks started the trade on a positive note and traded in fine fettle, as the street got support with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that there is no need to worry over the steep fall in the Indian rupee’s value against the US dollar as the inherent strength of the country’s economy will aid in arresting the downtrend. Some support also came in with the Finance Ministry’s statement that Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds can be claimed by simply submitting a printout of GSTR-2A form to tax authorities instead of giving all purchase invoices of a month. However, key indices erased gains and turned into negative terrain, as the rupee plunged below 72 against the dollar for the first time ever. But, the selling proved short-lived as markets once again entered into green terrain and traded near intraday high levels, as optimism remained among the investors with a private report stating that Corporate India announced merger and acquisition (M&A) deals worth $34.8 billion during April-June this year, registering nearly 7-fold jump over the same period last year. Some comfort also came in with a another private report that companies are willing to raise their staff level, and the pace of hiring is expected to be faster than last year, riding high on strong demand conditions.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday, on the back of ongoing concerns over emerging markets and potential new U.S. tariffs on China. European markets were trading in green in early deals, as the euro area private sector expanded slightly more than initially estimated in August. The final data from IHS Markit showed that the composite output index rose to 54.5 in August from July's 54.3. Besides, UK services sector expanded at a faster pace in August on stronger new orders. As per survey data from IHS Markit, the IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 54.3 from 53.5 in July.

Back home, steel sector stocks ended higher with ICRA’s report that sharp depreciation in the rupee is likely to help the domestic steel industry lower imports and boost exports in the coming months, which in turn may improve the country's overall steel trade balance. Besides, sugar sector stocks were in sweet spot, as facing an unprecedented crisis of surplus production, the Indian sugar industry demanded the government hike the minimum sale price (MSP) of sugar to Rs 36 a kilo (kg), from the current Rs 29 and mandatorily fix a quota of export of 7 million tonnes (MT) for the 2018-19 season that starts from October.

The BSE Sensex ended at 38205.93, up by 187.62 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 37912.50 and 38320.96. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.38%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 2.17%, Energy up by 2.11%, Power up by 1.11%, Oil & Gas up by 1.07% and Utilities up by 0.88%, while Telecom down by 0.55%, Consumer Durables down by 0.25%, Consumer Disc down by 0.24% and TECK down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.72%, Coal India up by 2.02%, Power Grid up by 1.92%, Sun Pharma up by 1.81% and Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.74%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.47%, Yes Bank down by 1.41%, ICICI Bank down by 0.74%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.43% and Asian Paints down by 0.35% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, amid continues depreciation of Indian currency against US dollar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the reasons for fall in rupee are global factors. He highlighted that the domestic unit was better off as compared to other currencies. He said ‘I don’t think there is any need for the world’s fastest-growing economy to come out with panic and knee-jerk reactions.’ The rupee’s unabated fall continued for the sixth straight session on September 5, 2018 as it hit yet another closing low of 71.75 against the US dollar, tumbling 17 paise. The battered rupee has lost 165 paise in the last six trading sessions.

Jaitley said ‘If you look at the domestic economic situation and the global situation, there are virtually no domestic reasons which are attributable to this. The reasons are global.’ He further said the dollar has strengthened against almost every other currency and added that the rupee has consistently either strengthened or remained in a range.

The Finance Minister also said ‘It has not weakened...the rupee is better-off’. He added that the rupee has strengthened against other currencies like the British Pound and the Euro. He assured that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is working in the right direction and taking necessary action. On the inflation front, he said the government has consistently maintained 4% inflation during the last four years.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11520.00, up by 43.05 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 11436.05 and 11562.25. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 2.74%, Cipla up by 2.31%, Coal India up by 2.07%, Sun Pharma up by 2.00% and Lupin up by 1.79%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 2.44%, Hindalco down by 1.65%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.65%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.59% and Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 1.42% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 rose 3.03 points or 0.04% to 7,386.31, France’s CAC was up by 12.69 points or 0.24% to 5,272.91 and Germany’s DAX increased 7.66 points or 0.06% to 12,048.12.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday as renewed global trade tensions as well as emerging market woes kept investors in a defensive mode. A sharp fall in oil prices overnight also weighed on markets. Chinese shares ended lower on fears of additional tariffs as a public comment period on the possibility of fresh US tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese goods ends today. Further, Japanese shares closed lower, with a firmer yen, an annual reshuffle of the Nikkei index and a powerful earthquake in Hokkaido, the latest in a series of natural disasters to hit the country this year keeping investors nervous.