Post Session: Quick Review

Bears held tight grip over the Dalal Street on Friday, with both Sensex and Nifty ending in deep red. Key indices started on a negative note and remained in red terrain for the whole trading day, as corporate revenues declined by 31 per cent in the June quarter, but profit margins decreased by a lesser degree to 3.6 per cent in the April-June period, according to Icra . Domestic rating agency Icra analysed financial results of 489 companies to arrive at the conclusion. It can be noted that the GDP of the country contracted by 23.9 per cent during the quarter, which had witnessed total lockdown of the country for the first two months to contain the spread of the coronavirus infections.

In afternoon deals, key benchmarks trimmed some of their losses, after market participants took some solace with AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel’s statement that apparel exports from India will expand by 40 percent in the current financial year (FY21) with major focus on new medical textiles. He said this will take the total apparel exports up from $15.4 billion last fiscal to about $22 billion in 2020-21. However, in the last hour of the trade, key indices again extended their losses to end trading session on a lower note, on the back of negative cues from other Asian markets. Rising coronavirus cases also dampened the market sentiments.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher despite falling on Wall Street overnight led by heavy selling of Apple and other technology stocks. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, after Singapore's retail sales monthly growth slowed in July, yet remained in double-digits, while sales continued to fall on an annual basis, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic persisted. Retail sales grew 27.4 percent month-on-month in July. The statistical office attributed the monthly growth to a lower base in June 2020, when most physical stores were closed until June 18.

The BSE Sensex ended at 38357.18, down by 633.76 points or 1.63% after trading in a range of 38249.77 and 38729.66. There were 1 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.74%, while Small cap index was down by 1.07%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 2.99%, Power down by 2.59%, Telecom down by 2.57%, PSU down by 2.20% and Realty down by 2.19%, there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. (Provisional)

The only gainer on the Sensex was Maruti Suzuki up by 1.70%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.07%, Tata Steel down by 3.78%, SBI down by 3.05%, NTPC down by 3.02% and Bharti Airtel down by 2.80% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, highlighting improvement in the country’s global trade, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has said that exports as well as imports are showing positive trends. He said that the exports are approaching the last year’s levels, after making a sharp dip in April this year due to pandemic. Regarding imports, the positive thing is that the Capital Goods imports have not declined, and the reduction in imports has been seen mainly in crude, gold and fertilizers.

Besides, the Minister said that the trade deficit is reducing drastically and share in the global trade is improving, thanks to resilient supply chains, and perseverance and hardwork of exporters. The minister also said that they are trying to generate more reliable and better trade data so that nation can do better planning and frame policies accordingly.

The Minister further said that 24 focus manufacturing sectors have been identified which have the potential to expand, scale-up operations, improve quality, and lead enhancement of Indian share in global trade and value chain. These sectors have capacity to do import substitution and push exports. He said that India is being seen in the world as trusted and resilient partner in global value chain.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11333.85, down by 193.60 points or 1.68% after trading in a range of 11303.65 and 11452.05. There were 2 stocks advancing against 48 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The only gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.66% and Zee Entertainment up by 0.07%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.16%, Tata Steel down by 3.83%, JSW Steel down by 3.77%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 3.55% and SBI down by 3.07% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 37.88 points or 0.65% to 5,888.74, France’s CAC increased 34.88 points or 0.7% to 5,044.40 and Germany’s DAX was up by 34.01 points or 0.26% to 13,091.78.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday tracking biggest sell-off in Wall Street overnight since June following a steep decline in technology shares. Excessive valuations in the tech sector with looming US presidential election in November is heightening volatility, while US President Trump’s vaccine chief sees a very, very low chance of a vaccine by Election Day too weighed on market sentiment. Investors will be focusing on to the release of the closely-watched US monthly jobs report for August due later in the day, with expectations to show that employment surged up by 1.4 million jobs. Japanese shares ended down due to profit booking after strong gains in previous sessions.