Post Session: Quick Review

Continuing their downtrend momentum, Indian equity benchmarks ended Thursday’s trade on lower note with losses of around half a percent, on the back of sustained selling activities by market-participants. Traders remain concerned about the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data showing that both bank credit as well as deposits growth marginally declined on a fortnightly basis, clipping at 14.5 percent at Rs 94.29 lakh crore deposits grew at a tepid 9.63 percent to Rs 121.22 lakh crore for the fortnight ending February 1. Some pessimism also spread among investors with a report that volatile crude oil prices, a strong dollar and rising US bond yields has resulted in foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turning big sellers in the Indian market.

However, Indian markets saw some recovery in afternoon trade, on the back of easing wholesale price index (WPI) inflation data.  Wholesale prices in India eased to 2.76 percent in January, as compared to 3.80 percent in December, due to cheaper food and fuel prices. Wholesale inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), grew 3.02 percent in January 2018. Though, markets failed to trim all of their losses, amid rising global crude prices and a subdued trend at other Asian bourses. Investors even overlooked report that with an aim to improve competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the government has approved a three-year extension of the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy and Technology Up-gradation (CLCS-TUS) Scheme for MSMEs with total outlay of Rs 2,900 crore. The scheme has been approved for continuation beyond the 12th five-year Plan for three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday, as investors looked for progress in the US-China trade talks currently underway in Beijing. European markets were trading in green, after a string of well-received earnings reports, especially in the financial and technology sectors, provided fresh momentum. Back home, textile sector remained in focus with private report that the Centre will soon announce measures to boost exports of apparels and textiles which will be compliant with the World Trade Organization norms and help exporters meet competition from countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.  Public sector banks (PSBs) were in focus with report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 13 imposed penalties of Rs 5 crore on four PSBs including State Bank of India (SBI) and Corporation Bank for violation of various banking norms.

The BSE Sensex ended at 35876.22, down by 157.89 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 35799.42 and 36109.10. There were 13 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.52%, while Small cap index up by 0.17%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 0.84%, Bankex up by 0.78%, Healthcare up by 0.49%, Realty up by 0.47% and Auto up by 0.44%, while Oil & Gas down by 2.11%, Telecom down by 1.95%, Energy down by 1.74%, IT down by 1.28% and TECK down by 1.14% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 31.50%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 3.86%, Tata Motors up by 2.81%, Sun Pharma up by 2.17% and Indusind Bank up by 1.27%.  (Provisional)

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.03%, Infosys down by 1.98%, Asian Paints down by 1.28%, HDFC Bank down by 1.27% and Coal India down by 1.27% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report has showed that bank credit growth increased by 14.5 percent at Rs 94.29 lakh crore, while deposits grew at a tepid 9.63 percent to Rs 121.22 lakh crore for the fortnight ending February 1. Though, both credit and deposits growth of bank declined marginally on a fortnightly basis.

In the previous fortnight ended January 18, credit had increased by 14.61 percent to Rs 93.32 lakh crore and deposits grew by 9.69 percent to Rs 119.86 lakh crore. The decline was mainly driven by the poor show by agriculture and allied activities and the personal loans during the week.

While credit demand from agriculture and allied activities grew by 8.4 percent in December 2018, compared to an increase of 9.5 percent in December 2017, industrial credit rose by 4.4 percent in December 2018 over 2.1 percent in the year-ago month.

Similarly non-food credit also increased faster at 12.8 percent year-on-year basis in December 2018 compared to a 10 percent growth in the same month last year. In the reporting month, credit to the services sector almost doubled to 23.2 percent as against 14.7 percent year- ago period but personal loans growth decelerated to 17 percent from 18.9 percent.

The CNX Nifty ended at 10746.05, down by 47.60 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 10718.75 and 10792.70. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 30.57%, Zee Entertainment up by 6.19%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 6.09%, JSW Steel up by 3.48% and Tata Motors up by 2.71%.  (Provisional)

On the flip side, BPCL down by 4.19%, Indian Oil Corp. down by 4.04%, Hindalco down by 3.25%, Bharti Airtel down by 3.14% and GAIL India down by 2.39% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 19.42 points or 0.27% to 7,210.26, France’s CAC added 25.22 points or 0.5% to 5,099.49 and Germany’s DAX was up by 17.10 points or 0.15% to 11,184.32.

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday, as investors looked for progress in the US-China trade talks currently underway in Beijing. There were reports that US President Donald Trump may be considering whether to extend the deadline for a trade deal with China. Japanese shares ended on a flat note after data showed Japan's economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.4 percent in the October to December period last year. Chinese exports and imports data for January easily topped expectations, helping limit losses across the region. Data showed Chinese exports grew 9.1 percent in January from a year earlier, while imports declined 1.5 percent.