Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended with notable losses on Thursday. After a negative start of the day, key indices remained lower for the whole day, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its Interim Economic Outlook report forecast a deeper contraction of 10.2% for India in the current fiscal, surpassing its June estimate of -7.3% in the event of a second wave of infections. Adding more pessimism, a report stated that total tax collection of the Centre, including advance tax collection for the second quarter, fell 22.5% to Rs 2,53,532.3 crore till September 15 of the current fiscal as compared to the year-ago period.

In afternoon deals, Indian markets extended their losses to close the trading day in deep red, amid a private report stated that India’s GDP is likely to contract by 8.6 percent in FY21 as against its earlier prediction of 5.8 percent, citing factors including the modest government response to the crisis for its estimate. Traders paid no heed towards reports that India has been ranked at the 116th position in the latest edition of the World Bank's annual Human Capital Index that benchmarks key components of human capital across countries. However, India's score increased to 0.49 from 0.44 in 2018, as per the Human Capital Index report released by the World Bank.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower. Asian markets ended lower on Thursday, after Japan's central bank maintained its monetary policy easing as widely expected, on Thursday. The Policy Board of the Bank of Japan voted 8-1 to retain the interest rate at -0.1 percent on current accounts that financial institutions maintain at the central bank. The bank will continue to purchase necessary amount of Japanese government bonds without setting an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields will remain at around zero percent.

The BSE Sensex ended at 38979.85, down by 323.00 points or 0.82% after trading in a range of 38926.34 and 39234.81. There were 3 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.24%, while Small cap index was down by 0.53%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.46%, IT up by 0.23% and TECK up by 0.07%, while Realty down by 1.87%, Metal down by 1.27%, Bankex down by 1.18%, Capital Goods down by 1.17% and Power down by 1.15% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech. up by 2.36%, Infosys up by 0.96%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.77% and ONGC up by 0.00%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.23%, Power Grid down by 2.07%, TCS down by 1.70%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.70% and ICICI Bank down by 1.56% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the World Bank in its latest report has showed that India has been ranked at the 116th position in the latest edition of the World Bank's annual Human Capital Index that benchmarks key components of human capital across countries.

As per the Human Capital Index report, India's score increased to 0.49 from 0.44 in 2018. The report noted that pre-pandemic, most countries had made steady progress in building human capital of children, with the biggest strides made in low-income countries.

The 2020 Human Capital Index update includes health and education data for 174 countries - covering 98 per cent of the world's population - up to March 2020, providing a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children, with the biggest strides made in low-income countries.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11516.10, down by 88.45 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 11498.50 and 11587.20. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 4.31%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.43%, HCL Tech. up by 2.41%, Infosys up by 0.92% and BPCL up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 4.33%, Tata Motors down by 2.51%, Shree Cement down by 2.45%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.26% and Power Grid down by 2.12% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 44.58 points or 0.73% to 6,033.90, France’s CAC decreased 41.26 points or 0.81% to 5,033.16 and Germany’s DAX was down by 109.91 points or 0.83% to 13,145.46.

All the Asian markets ended lower on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and signaled that rates are likely to remain at near-zero levels through 2023, raising concerns about the recovery in the world's largest economy. Japanese shares ended lower, despite the Bank of Japan maintained its massive monetary policy stimulus. In its monetary policy statement, the Bank of Japan noted that the economy has started to pick up but remained in a severe situation due to the impact of the corona virus pandemic at home and abroad. Meanwhile, South Korean shares extended losses to a second consecutive day due to profit booking.