Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks altered between green and red for most part of the day and ended last trading day of the week on lower note, as investors remained cautious ahead of index of industrial production (IIP) data for March scheduled to be released today. Markets continued weak run for eighth straight day. After opening on a positive note, indices fell back to red as traders remain concerned as International Monetary Fund has warned that trade tensions and the exchange of tariffs between the United States and China pose a ‘threat to the global economy’. Though, markets once again entered into green terrain in early noon session, as investors took encouragement as Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas said that the corporate affairs ministry has maintained a fairly reliable database that is not a black box. He emphasized that it is up to statistical authorities to decide on which data is representative for GDP calculation. Some optimism also came in with a private report that even as employment scenario remains weak, India may see the addition of 11.5 lakh jobs in the formal sector during the first half of FY20, adding travel, hospitality and BPO/ITeS are likely to be the top contributors.

But, key indices failed to protect gains and ended in red terrain amid reports that India inflation likely crept up slightly to a six-month high in April, driven mainly by food prices, although holding below the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4 percent for the ninth straight month. The market participants overlooked Engineering exporters’ apex body Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to facilitate easy and cheaper bank loans mainly for the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly higher on Friday as investors shrugged off the US decision to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and remained hopeful of a breakthrough in trade talks. European markets were trading in red despite German exports rose unexpectedly in March, raising hopes that a slowdown in Europe’s largest economy will not significantly dent growth in the first quarter despite headwinds from trade disputes. Back home, packaging industry stocks were in focus with Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan’s statement that the fast-growing Indian packaging industry needs to focus on key areas such as safety, environment protection, reusabilty and re-cyclability of material with a view to promote the growth of the sector in a sustainable way.

The BSE Sensex ended at 37405.16, down by 153.75 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 37379.90 and 37721.98. There were 11 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.10%, while Small cap index was up by 0.23%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.46%, Telecom up by 0.65%, Bankex up by 0.22%, Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services up by 0.16% and Industrials up by 0.10%, while Metal down by 1.68%, IT down by 1.29%, Oil & Gas down by 1.05%, TECK down by 0.99% and Energy down by 0.86% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.67%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.50%, ICICI Bank up by 0.73%, HDFC up by 0.51% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.46%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 5.81%, HCL Tech. down by 4.16%, Yes Bank down by 3.44%, Indusind Bank down by 2.82% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.68% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas has said the corporate affairs ministry maintained a fairly reliable database that is not a black box. He emphasized that it is up to statistical authorities to decide on which data is representative for GDP calculation.  Against the backdrop of concerns over data used for calculating GDP numbers, srinivas stated that the ministry's MCA 21 portal is a trust-based system as the information reported there are company disclosures. MCA 21 is an electronic repository of corporate filings. It is a highly transparent platform and one of the best in the world.

Filings under the Companies Act are submitted to the corporate affairs ministry through the MCA 21 system.  There were around 15 lakh active companies incorporated on the MCA 21 and the number has come down to 11.5 lakh in the last two years after the names of around 3.5 lakh companies were struck off due to non-filing of statutory returns for two years or more.

Besides, noting that the drive against companies that are not making required filings is a continuous process, Srinivas said the ministry initiated Know Your Client (KYC) process for companies about two months ago.  With the KYC process, the details about companies, including the company's registered address and geographical information (latitude and longitude details), directors, KMPs (Key Managerial Persons) are getting revalidated. Around 5 lakh companies have so far complied with the KYC process.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11256.80, down by 45.00 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 11251.05 and 11345.80. There were 20 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 3.52%, SBI up by 2.57%, Titan Co up by 2.27%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.92% and Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 1.89%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.19%, HCL Tech. down by 4.54%, Yes Bank down by 3.49%, Indusind Bank down by 3.11% and Indian Oil Corp. down by 2.06% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 30.54 points or 0.42% to 7,237.95, France’s CAC was down by 33.21 points or 0.63% to 5,346.37 and Germany’s DAX fell 96.42 points or 0.81% to 12,070.34.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Friday as investors shrugged off the US decision to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and remained hopeful of a breakthrough in trade talks. Chinese shares ended higher and the yuan strengthened as state funds stepped in to prop up markets following the Trump administration's latest tariff hike. Though, Japanese shares ended lower after the US hiked tariffs on more than $200 billion in goods from China, raising concerns the trade dispute will dent global growth.