Post Session: Quick Review

Indian stock markets ended F&O expiry session with gains of over a percent, on the back of buying by participants. The frontline gauges recaptured their crucial 11,550 (Nifty) and 39,000 (Sensex) levels. The day began on strong note, as traders took encouragement with report that easing the regulatory framework for foreign portfolio investors, SEBI has simplified KYC requirements for them and permitted them to carry out the off-market transfer of securities. Besides, the regulator has broad-based the classification for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and simplified their registration process. Some support also came with Employees' State Insurance Corporation’s (ESIC) latest payroll data showing that around 14.24 lakh jobs were created in July, higher than 12.49 lakh in the previous month. However, markets trimmed most of their gains in afternoon session as market-men got anxious with a report that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has forecasted India’s growth to moderate to 6% in 2019 from 7.4% in 2018 due to lower-than-targeted tax collections and limited public spending.

But, key indices regained traction in the last leg of trade, as optimism remained among traders with Union minister Som Parkash’s statement that the Centre is determined to bring economic growth to 7-8% at the earliest, asserting that the government has taken many steps to boost the economy. Local investors also cheered with a private report stating that the Indian economy is expected to start its recovery from later part of this fiscal thanks to the initiatives taken by the Reserve Bank for policy rate transmission and steps by the government to boost growth.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly in green, while European markets were trading in green after encouraging comments from China on trade with the United States soothed sentiment that was rattled by growth worries and political turmoil. The Chinese commerce ministry said Beijing is in close communication with Washington and is preparing to make progress at trade talks in October. Back home, public sector banking stocks were in focus with rating agency ICRA’s report that profitability and return on assets (RoA) of public sector banks (PSBs) are likely to remain low during the current financial year on the back of continued provisioning on existing and fresh bad loans.

The BSE Sensex ended at 39013.32, up by 419.80 points or 1.09% after trading in a range of 38676.11 and 39158.07. There were 25 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.92%, while Small cap index was up by 0.42%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 4.55%, Oil & Gas up by 2.66%, Realty up by 2.56%, Auto up by 2.35% and Energy up by 2.21%, while IT down by 0.39% and TECK down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 6.92%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 5.87%, ONGC up by 4.83%, Tata Steel up by 4.39% and ICICI Bank up by 4.10%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 5.31%, Infosys down by 1.15%, HCL Technologies down by 0.85%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.66% and NTPC down by 0.43% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its Trade and Development 2019 report has projected India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 6% for 2019 from 7.4% in 2018. It said slowdown in growth rate is attributed to a sharp fall to 5.8% in the first quarter of 2019. It said together with a projected deceleration in the rate of growth in 2019 for India, where below-target collections from the recently introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) have combined with fiscal consolidation efforts to limit public spending, will further slow growth in the Asian region as a whole.

According to the report, the two economies that were among the fastest growing in the world, China and India, are showing signs of a loss of growth momentum. Besides, highlighting the risks of shadow banking, it said such institutions were fragile alternatives to public banks and development finance institutions, as the roles of the latter were reduced or done away with, as part of liberalisation.

UNCTAD also highlighted concerns over sustainable development goals (SDGs). It said these concerns were compounded by the dizzying rise in debt levels to a scale similar to those seen before the financial crisis. It suggested that meeting financing demands of SDGs required rebuilding multilateralism around the idea of a ‘Global Green New Deal’, and forging, by implication, a different collective financial future.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11580.00, up by 139.80 points or 1.22% after trading in a range of 11466.35 and 11610.85. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Vedanta up by 6.63%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 5.65%, Coal India up by 5.40%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 4.80% and Zee Entertainment up by 4.66%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 4.84%, Infosys down by 1.03%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.71%, Wipro down by 0.67% and HCL Tech. down by 0.46% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 81.67 points or 1.12% to 7,371.66, France’s CAC rose 36.71 points or 0.66% to 5,620.51 and Germany’s DAX was up by 52.17 points or 0.43% to 12,286.35.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday as easing concerns about US political risks after US President Donald Trump's comments suggesting a trade deal with China could happen sooner than expected. Japanese shares gained slightly after the US and Japan have signed a limited trade deal, under which Japan will open new markets to about $7 billion in US agricultural products. Though, some positive mood faded and Chinese shares ended lower as Trump's repeated mixed messages about trade negotiations caused investors to curb their enthusiasm.