Post Session: Quick Review

Local equity markets took a breather from gains on four straight trading sessions and ended Thursday’s trade on lower note, as investors remained cautious ahead of quarterly results of key bluechips. Markets traded in negative note since the beginning, following subdued global cues. Sentiments remained dampened with Engineering Exports Promotion Council’s (EEPC) statement that there was a sharp annualised drop of over 54% in the gross bank credit deployment in the export sector. It further noted that the Reserve Bank and the government need to ensure timely and affordable bank credit for exporters to boost outbound shipments. Traders also took note of the World Bank’s CEO Kristalina Georgieva stating that developing economies like India, must get ready to cope with possible turbulence and to build fiscal and monetary space, to build policy buffers. 

However, further down-ward move got restricted as traders found some solace with a private report indicating that India's December retail inflation is expected to have eased to its lowest since June 2017 as food costs fell and fuel prices rose at a slower pace, giving the central bank breathing space to keep policy on hold. Some comfort also came with rating agency ICRA’s report that toll collections are likely to witness a double-digit growth in the next financial year, propelled by an increase in commercial vehicle sales and wholesale price index (WPI).

On the global front, Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, while European markets were trading in red, as optimism over the recently concluded U.S.-China trade talks were muted by a disappointing Chinese inflation report. Back home, select sugar stocks ended lower with private report stating that India's sugar exports are likely to be far lower than a 5 million-tonne target set by government as a strengthening rupee and falling global prices make shipments unattractive despite a government push for overseas sales. Besides, pharma stocks ended higher, amid private report that the domestic pharmaceutical industry bounced back to a nearly double-digit year-on-year growth in 2018 (9.4%), after falling to an eight-year low (5.5%) in the previous year. The industry’s size was Rs 1.29 trillion last year.

The BSE Sensex ended at 36097.13, down by 115.78 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 36070.76 and 36269.31. There were 13 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.51%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.65%, Healthcare up by 0.52%, Industrials up by 0.39%, Utilities up by 0.38% and Capital Goods up by 0.23%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.78%, Bankex down by 0.77%, Energy down by 0.47%, PSU down by 0.39% and Realty down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.37%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.08%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.98%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.83% and NTPC up by 0.72%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.43%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.44%, ONGC down by 1.44%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.22% and Axis Bank down by 0.92% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and PwC in their latest survey report stated that India Inc expects Indian economy likely to grow over 7% in the next 12 months on the back of a number of policy initiatives taken by the government. India Inc is upbeat about the future of the economy as growth is to be driven by strong domestic demand and an increased focus on export markets.

As per the report titled ‘The India Manufacturing Barometer 2019’, the key driving factors for growth of economy includes strong public sector driven infrastructure development, easing out of business and regulatory processes, and opening up of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in several sectors, including simplification of FDI rules for large investments. The industry believes that the GST will help attract foreign and domestic investment across new locations. It will contribute to improving logistics which includes ease of procuring, enabling efficient supply chains and rationalizing its cost.

According to the survey report, about 76% of respondents were optimistic about the prospects of Indian economy for the coming year, representing a significant jump over last year (63%). The survey is based on the sample of companies that contribute around 12% to the manufacturing Gross Domestic Product of the country. The sectors include automobiles, chemicals, electrical machinery, food processing, leather, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

The CNX Nifty ended at 10817.20, down by 37.95 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 10801.80 and 10859.35. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan Co up by 1.58%, Tata Motors up by 1.34%, Eicher Motors up by 1.13%, GAIL India up by 1.04% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.02%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, HPCL down by 2.45%, Indusind Bank down by 2.36%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.74%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.69% and Grasim Industries down by 1.68% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 19.88 points or 0.29% to 6,886.75, France’s CAC shed 36.13 points or 0.75% to 4,777.45 and Germany’s DAX was down by 45.14 points or 0.41% to 10,848.18.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as three days of trade negotiations between mid-level American and Chinese officials ended in Beijing without significant breakthroughs. China said meetings were 'extensive, in-depth and detailed' without offering specifics. Chinese shares ended lower after the release of lower-than-expected inflation data. Consumer prices in China were up just 1.9 percent year on year in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 2.1 percent year on year and down from 2.2 percent in November. The bureau also said that producer prices were up an annual 0.9 percent - well shy of forecasts for 1.6 percent and down sharply from 2.7 percent in the previous month. Further, Japanese shares ended lower as the yen firmed up in view of the dovish tone of the Fed minutes released on Wednesday.