Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply on Monday, with both Sensex and Nifty ending in deep red. After a cautious start, markets remained weak, as the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional Estimate of Net Payroll’ data report has showed that India created 1154896 new jobs in the month of October 2020 as against revised figure of 1419161 in September 2020. In the first of the session, losses were limited, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India would be the engine of global growth, along with a few other countries, contributing to the revival of the global economy in a significant way.

In the second half of the session, markets extended losses to end lower, on the back of negative cues from European markets. Traders remained cautious even after Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur stated that India has the potential to achieve double-digit growth through a healthy dose of digital services and manufacturing base expansion which will be driven by demand from the rural sector, youth and the aspirational middle class. Traders also overlooked reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPI) pumped in Rs 54,980 crore in Indian markets in December so far amidst availability of excess liquidity in global markets and expectation of fresh stimulus package by various central banks, among others.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower as investors monitored a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus that has shut down much of the U.K. Asian markets ended mixed on Monday, after China's benchmark lending rates were left unchanged as the economy continued to recover strongly from the coronavirus driven downturn. The one-year loan prime rate was retained at 3.85 percent and the five-year loan prime rate was maintained at 4.65 percent. The one-year and five-year loan prime rates were last reduced in April. The one-year loan prime rate was lowered by 20 basis points and five-year rate by 10 basis points in April.

The BSE Sensex ended at 45553.96, down by 1406.73 points or 3.00% after trading in a range of 44923.08 and 47055.69. All 30 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 4.14%, while Small cap index was down by 4.57%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU down by 6.47%, Metal down by 6.05%, Oil & Gas down by 5.99%, Utilities down by 5.68% and Realty down by 5.03%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. (Provisional)

The top losers on the Sensex were ONGC down by 9.15%, Indusind Bank down by 6.98%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 6.26%, SBI down by 6.19% and NTPC down by 5.98%, while there were no gainers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional Estimate of Net Payroll’ data report has showed that India created 1154896 new jobs in the month of October 2020 as against revised figure of 1419161 in September 2020.

As per the report, the maximum jobs were created in the age bracket of 22-25 and in this bracket the top sectors which have created more fresh jobs include Expert Services; Trading-Commercial Establishments; Establishment Engaged in Manufacture, Marketing Servicing; Engineers- Engineering Contractors; Building & Construction Industry; Financing Establishment and Hospitals. In the similar age bracket, Maharashtra was the first among the States to create maximum payroll, followed by Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Delhi.

According to the data report, 6630 new jobs were created in less than 18 age group category, while 264093 jobs in 18-21 age group category. Further, 22-25 age, 26-28 age, 29-35 age and more than 35 age group category witnessed 315167, 158431, 218857 and 191718 new payrolls, respectively in October 2020.

The CNX Nifty ended at 13328.40, down by 432.15 points or 3.14% after trading in a range of 13131.45 and 13777.50. All 50 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top losers on Nifty were ONGC down by 9.24%, Tata Motors down by 8.86%, GAIL India down by 8.28%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 7.29% and Hindalco down by 7.04%, while there were no gainers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 63.90 points or 0.98% to 6,465.28, France’s CAC decreased 111.76 points or 2.02% to 5,416.08 and Germany’s DAX was down by 255.55 points or 1.87% to 13,374.96.

Asian markets ended mixed on Monday, despite news that US lawmakers finally set a deal for a nearly $900 billion Covid-19 financial package for American families and businesses. Faltering trade negotiations between Britain and the European Union put more pressure on market. The United Kingdom has gone back into strict lockdown due to the discovery of the new strain of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, weeks after it started vaccinating against the virus. Chinese shares ended higher as the country's central bank kept its key benchmark lending rate unchanged, but rising Sino-US tensions could continue to weigh on the market.