Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended last trading day of Calendar Year 2020 on a flat note. The start of the day was in red terrain, as Finance ministry in its latest quarterly report on public debt management has said that total liabilities of the government increased to Rs 107.04 lakh crore at end of Q2 (July- September) of FY21 from Rs 101.3 lakh crore at end of Q1 (April-June) of FY21. This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 5.6 percent in Q2 FY21. Besides, India’s current account surplus moderated to $15.5 billion (2.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product) in quarter ended September 2020 (Q2FY21) from $19.2 billion (3.8 per cent of GDP) in (Q1FY21). The current account balance was in deficit to the tune of $7.6 billion in Q2 of 2019-20 (1.1 per cent of GDP).

Key indices traded volatile during the whole trading session, however downside remained capped, amid reports that after being severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the country's exports growth is expected to rebound in 2021 on the back of recovery in economic activities and demand worldwide. However, the uncertain global trade situation due to rising protectionism, which adversely impacted exports in 2019, could have a bearing on the country's outbound shipments in the coming months. Besides, the commerce ministry said an import monitoring system is being developed for several sectors, including aluminium, copper, footwear, furniture, sports goods, and gym equipment. The system would help gather advanced information on imports of these products and make it available to the stakeholders, including government and domestic industries. The system is already in place for steel and coal.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower on the final trading day of a rollercoaster year that will leave the region’s main benchmark short of recouping all its losses from the pandemic.  Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday, even after South Korea's inflation slowed marginally in December. The data from Statistics Korea revealed that consumer price inflation eased to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent in November. The rate came in line with expectations. Excluding food and energy, core inflation also slowed to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent. Month-on-month, consumer prices gained 0.2 percent, in contrast to a 0.1 percent drop in the previous month. At the same time, core consumer prices remained flat in December.

The BSE Sensex ended at 47751.33, up by 5.11 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 47602.12 and 47896.97. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.20%, while Small cap index was up by 0.36%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.18%, Consumer Durables up by 1.06%, Consumer Disc up by 0.81%, Metal up by 0.52% and Healthcare up by 0.47%, while Telecom down by 0.76%, FMCG down by 0.53%, Energy down by 0.46%, Basic Materials down by 0.20% and Oil & Gas down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 1.65%, Sun Pharma up by 1.41%, ICICI Bank up by 1.20%, Asian Paints up by 1.13% and Infosys up by 0.77%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.33%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.33%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.29%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.19% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.00% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report ‘Developments in India’s Balance of Payments during the Second Quarter (July-September) of 2020-21’ has showed that India’s current account surplus moderated to $15.5 billion (2.4 per cent of GDP) in Q2 of 2020-21 from  $19.2 billion (3.8 per cent of GDP) in Q1 of 2020-21; a deficit of $ 7.6 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP) was recorded a year ago (i.e. Q2 of 2019-20).

According to the RBI, the narrowing of the current account surplus in Q2 of 2020-21 was on account of a rise in the merchandise trade deficit to $ 14.8 billion from $ 10.8 billion in the preceding quarter. Besides, it said that net services receipts increased both sequentially and on a year-on-year basis, primarily on the back of higher net earnings from computer services.

The report further noted that private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, declined on a y-o-y basis but improved sequentially by 12 per cent to $20.4 billion in Q2 2020-21. Besides, net outgo from the primary income account, primarily reflecting net overseas investment income payments, increased to $9.3 billion from $8.8 billion a year ago.

The CNX Nifty ended at 13981.75, down by 0.20 points or 0.00% after trading in a range of 13936.45 and 14024.85. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 1.61%, Sun Pharma up by 1.43%, Hindalco up by 1.33%, ICICI Bank up by 1.19% and Divis Lab up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 2.39%, TCS down by 1.60%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.25%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.24% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.11% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 99.20 points or 1.51% to 6,456.62 and France’s CAC was down by 26.89 points or 0.48% to 5,572.52.

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday amid profit booking and as some of the regional markets were closed early for New Year's Eve, while the market remained supported after UK regulators approved a Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for emergency use. Chinese shares rose for a second straight day after its factory activity expanded in December. The country’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December came in at 51.9, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.