Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended last trading day of the week in green terrain. Key indices started on a positive note, taking support with union health minister Harsh Vardhan’s statement that India is expected to have a COVID-19 vaccine in a few months and the country should be in the process of delivering it to people in the next six months. Adding more optimism, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said V-shaped pattern of recovery is being seen in several high-frequency indicators, driven by various measures taken by the government to revive economic growth, hit hard by the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

Markets witnessed some volatility during the session, with Moody's Investors Service in its latest report stated that while the government's second round of stimulus will spur consumer spending over the near term as coronavirus-related restrictions continue to be eased and India's festive season begins, the support to the country’s Gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be minimal. But, key indices remained higher for the almost whole day, as the government data showed that India's exports increased 5.99 percent year-on-year to $27.58 billion in September. Exports stood at $26.02 billion in September 2019.

Domestic sentiments remained optimistic, amid reports that the central government will borrow up to Rs 1.10 lakh crore on behalf of the states to bridge the shortfall in GST collections. A slowdown in the economy since last fiscal has resulted in a drop in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, upsetting the budgets of states which had given up their right to levy local taxes such as sales tax or VAT when GST was introduced in July 2017. Traders remained positive with Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur’s statement that the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package is aimed at making India a global hub of manufacturing and services.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher after sharp losses the day before. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, after South Korea's unemployment rate rose in September as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on the labor market. The data from Statistics Korea revealed that the jobless rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent in September from 3.2 percent in August. In the same month last year, the unemployment rate was 3.4 percent. On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate increased to 3.6 percent from 3.1 percent in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 39982.98, up by 254.57 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 39699.42 and 40125.71. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.05%, while Small cap index was up by 0.97%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.70%, Realty up by 2.60%, Bankex up by 1.95%, Basic Materials up by 1.80% and Utilities up by 1.61%, while Energy down by 0.82% was the only losing index on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 5.38%, HDFC Bank up by 2.55%, Power Grid up by 2.38%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.23% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.10%. On the flip side, HCL Tech. down by 3.76%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.72%, Reliance Industries down by 1.36%, Asian Paints down by 1.17% and Nestle down by 1.02% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in order to strengthen the country in making Atmanirbhar, the Minister of Steel & Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has appealed to Steel industry leaders to work with transparent policies and generate employment opportunities.

The Minister further said that with a bouquet of policy reforms, the government aims to provide a level-playing field to the industries for wealth creation. Well-laid processes and policy clarity are being designed to ensure ease of doing business.

Besides, Pradhan said that country has emerged from the slowdown caused by the pandemic and multiple economic indicators are already suggesting a rebounding of Indian economy.  He also stated that industry and businesses have a huge role to play in the economic recovery and self-reliant India.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11762.45, up by 82.10 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 11667.85 and 11789.75. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 6.69%, Tata Steel up by 5.34%, BPCL up by 4.07%, Divis Lab up by 3.58% and Hindalco up by 3.54%. On the flip side, UPL down by 7.82%, HCL Tech. down by 3.82%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.73%, Asian Paints down by 1.40% and Reliance Industries down by 1.39% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 54.40 points or 0.93% to 5,886.92, France’s CAC increased 64.37 points or 1.33% to 4,901.79 and Germany’s DAX was up by 73.66 points or 0.58% to 12,777.41.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday followed by resurgence in corona virus cases in Europe and the United States stoked concerns about a global economic recovery. Concerns that several parts of European countries started another round of lockdowns to contain the spread of the corona virus too added pressure on markets' sentiment. Further, uncertainties surrounding new US fiscal stimulus turned markets cautious. A stalemate in fiscal stimulus negotiations continued despite US President Donald Trump's offer to raise the size of a stimulus package. However, Chinese shares ended higher ahead to the release of third-quarter GDP data due next week. The Chinese economy is expected to have grown 5.2 percent in July-September from a year earlier, faster than the second quarter’s 3.2 percent.