Post Session: Quick Review

Indian stock markets traded firmly in green during F&O expiry session on Thursday and ended with gains of around half a percent, tracked a positive trend in Asian peers. Key indices continued their rising streak for the second day, settling above their crucial 10,750 (Nifty) and 35,800 (Sensex) bastions. The day began on strong note, as traders got encouragement with a private report stating that with global crude oil prices slumping to below $50 a barrel just months after crossing $86, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is now confident that the current account deficit (CAD) for 2018-19 (FY19) can be contained at about 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Earlier, the government had estimated the CAD would be 2.8 per cent of GDP. The sentiments were also supported by a Reserve Bank of India’s study showing that private sector non-finance firms reported a 41 per cent growth in net profits during the July-September quarter, despite higher expenditure as other income contributed to growth. The central bank attributed this to the strong growth in manufacturing sector profits, which received support from other income.

The market breadth remained optimistic with Union Minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that India will aim to receive $100 billion in foreign direct investments in the next two years and special industrial clusters are being created for countries like Japan, South Korea, China and Russia where their companies can invest and operate. Adding some solace, the government is likely to infuse Rs 28,615 crore into seven public sector banks (PSBs) through recapitalisation bonds by the end of this month. However, markets trimmed some of their gains in last hours of trade, as some anxiety remained among the investors with India Ratings and Research’s report stating that farm loan waivers announced by a number of states recently will adversely impact the combined state government capex spending.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, tracking cues from Wall Street where the major indices had one of their best sessions in recent times yesterday. European markets were trading mostly in red. Back home, airline industry stocks ended lower amid a report that Aviation watchdog DGCA has proposed duty time limits and rest hours for air traffic services personnel, wherein an individual can be on duty for up to 12 hours in a day. This is the first time that the regulator has mooted duty time limits for Air Traffic Services (ATS) personnel and it also comes at a time when air traffic has been growing exponentially. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 35805.46, up by 155.52 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 35781.95 and 36041.24. There were 16 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.30%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.46%, IT up by 1.28%, TECK up by 1.18%, FMCG up by 1.07% and Oil & Gas up by 0.91%, while Auto down by 0.51%, Metal down by 0.38%, Realty down by 0.34%, Bankex down by 0.33% and Basic Materials down by 0.30% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.04%, NTPC up by 2.03%, Reliance Industries up by 1.92%, Infosys up by 1.69% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.33%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.26%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.87%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.82%, Tata Motors down by 1.40% and Tata Steel down by 1.29% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in a positive note, the government has said that public sector banks (PSBs) reported recovery of Rs 60,713 crore against non-performing assets (NPAs) in the April-September period (H1) of current fiscal year (FY19). It added that this is double of the amount recovered in the corresponding period last year and more significant returns on high-value accounts are expected.

The finance ministry said following amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed banks to initiate insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal in 41 cases, 12 of which had cumulative outstanding of Rs 1,97,769 crore as on March 31, 2017. The remaining 29 had an outstanding of Rs 1,35,846 crore as on June 30, 2017.

According to the RBI data on global operations (with provisional data for September 2018), during the last three and a half financial years, NPAs of scheduled commercial banks reduced by Rs 2,83,770 crore due to recoveries. The government said measures such an asset quality review (AQR) initiated in 2015 for clean and fully provisioned balance sheets revealed a high incidence of NPAs that were piling up since 2008.

The CNX Nifty ended at 10774.50, up by 44.65 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 10764.45 and 10834.20. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 2.27%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.23%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.07%, Bharti Infratel up by 1.98% and Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 1.90%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.76%, Tata Steel down by 1.54%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.46%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.37% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.15% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 35.71 points or 0.53% to 6,650.28 and Germany’s DAX shed 152.27 points or 1.43% to 10,481.55, and France’s CAC was down by 1.63 points or 0.04% to 4,628.02.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, tracked by Wall Street’s huge rally yesterday. After suffering a severe setback on Christmas Eve, US stocks climbed higher overnight with traders indulging in hectic bargain hunting. Easing worries about the tenure of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and a strong rebound in crude oil prices aided sentiment. The Japanese market rose sharply, extending gains to a second successive session. However, the Hong Kong and Chinese shares ended lower after weak Chinese industrial data highlighted the difficulties the world's second largest economy is facing. Data showed industrial profits declined 1.8 percent in November from a year earlier, the first negative reading since December 2015 and a steep fall from 3.6 percent growth in October.