Post Session: Quick Review

Thursday turned out to be a fabulous day of trade for Indian equity benchmarks, where frontline gauges garnered gains of over a percent on the back of widespread buying by participants. Both the indices opened a little lower, as some cautiousness prevailed in the markets on report that the United States has told India it is considering caps on H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally. The US government plan to cap H-1B visas issued each year to Indians at between 10% and 15% of the annual quota. There is no current country-specific limit on the 85,000 H-1B work visas granted each year and an estimated 70% go to Indians. However, the losses were quickly pared, and the benchmark index retreated to trade in positive range, as traders took encouragement from Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyals’ statement that the government will not allow foreign companies to operate in multi-brand segment and necessary action will be taken against people indulging in predatory pricing. Traders also took note of a private report that India's benchmark 10-year bond yields dropped to their lowest in 20 months after the US Federal Reserve signalled possible interest rate cuts later this year, while buying from state-run banks also aided.

Key indices continued their rally mood in the last lap of trading, taking support from President Ram Nath Kovind’s statement that the government will soon announce a new industrial policy aimed at promoting the growth of industries and creation of jobs. Local investors also cheered with Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) informing that all genuine exporters will continue to get their Indirect Goods and Services Tax (IGST) refunds in a timely manner in a fully automated environment. Traders also paid no heed towards DBS Bank revised India's GDP growth for fiscal year 2020 downwards to 6.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) from 7 per cent projected earlier, citing headwinds for exports amidst challenging trade outlook.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged overnight but opened the door to rate cuts on the horizon. European markets were trading in green, as signs Brussels will hold off on disciplinary action over Italy's budget added to the latest signals of monetary stimulus on the way from the world's big central banks. Back home, NBFCs stocks were buzzing with a private report indicating that facing a record amount of debt that’s about to mature, India’s non-bank financing companies are finding their troubles worsening as a crisis of credibility starts to bite.

The BSE Sensex ended at 39603.34, up by 490.60 points or 1.25% after trading in a range of 38933.78 and 39638.64. There were 26 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.74%, while Small cap index was up by 1.10%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 2.47%, Capital Goods up by 2.46%, Healthcare up by 2.31%, Telecom up by 2.24% and Consumer Durables up by 2.05%. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 10.90%, Sun Pharma up by 4.05%, Indusind Bank up by 3.51%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.47% and ICICI Bank up by 3.11%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.27%, Power Grid down by 0.15%, HDFC Bank down by 0.12%, Axis Bank down by 0.10% and ITC down by 0.09% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, amid the problems faced by kirana stores, traders and retailers from foreign competition, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said the government will not allow foreign companies to operate in multi-brand segment and necessary action will be taken against people indulging in predatory pricing. He added that the pretext of B2B (business-to-business) no entry will be allowed for multi-brand retail.

Goyal also stated that predatory pricing will not be allowed and necessary action will be taken against defaulters. He added that the draft e-commerce policy will be finalised only after taking into account every suggestion received by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). He asked the traders to use government e-marketplace and MUDRA scheme to promote their business.

Besides, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has demanded early formulation of e-commerce policy. It said a regulatory authority should be constituted to regulate and monitor the e-commerce business with adequate powers to penalise or take action against entity which violates the policy. According to FDI policy, India permits foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail sector with a cap of 51% ownership by overseas players.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11834.05, up by 142.60 points or 1.22% after trading in a range of 11635.05 and 11842.15. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 10.90%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 8.04%, Sun Pharma up by 4.09%, Indusind Bank up by 3.67% and Larsen & Toubro up by 3.61%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, UPL down by 8.41%, Wipro down by 2.41%, Britannia Industries down by 1.51%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.31% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.22% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 33.47 points or 0.45% to 7,437.01, France’s CAC increased 42.71 points or 0.77% to 5,561.16 and Germany’s DAX increased 120.31 points or 0.98% to 12,428.84.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged overnight but opened the door to rate cuts on the horizon. Chinese shares ended higher on hopes that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping can make progress on easing trade tensions at the G20 summit in Japan next week. Further, Japanese shares ended up despite a stronger yen weighing on exporter stocks.