Post Session: Quick Review

17 Feb 2021 Evaluate

Indian equity benchmarks ended Wednesday’s trading session on lower note. After a negative start, indices traded in red terrain, as India registered 11,795 fresh Covid-19 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Active cases in India stand at 137,866, while the caseload tally has risen to 10,937,106. The country continues to be second-most-affected globally, and ranks 17th among worst-hit nations by active cases. Also, there was some cautiousness as Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray warned that if Covid-related norms are not followed, the state government will be forced to reimpose a lockdown.

In late morning deals, markets managed to cut most of their losses, taking support with ICRA ratings report that after two consecutive quarters of contraction, India's GDP is set to revert to the growth territory in the October-December 2020 period compared to the year-ago period. It said private consumption and government spending will help the economy post a turnaround during the December quarter and the GDP will grow 0.7 per cent. Traders were seen taking a note of reports that the finance ministry asked departments and ministries to surrender savings, if any, for the current financial year 2020-21 by March 20.

However, indices again added more losses in the second half of the session, as sentiments remained down-beat with Rating agency Crisil expects stressed assets of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to touch Rs 1.5-1.8 lakh crore or 6-7.5% of the assets under management (AUM) by the end of the current financial year.  However, reported gross non-performing assets would be limited due to the one-time Covid-19 restructuring window and the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) recast scheme offered by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Unlike previous crises, the pandemic has impacted almost all NBFC asset segments.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower as investors monitor rising bond yields. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday, even after the total value of core machine orders in Japan gained a seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent on month in December, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday - standing at 899.6 billion yen. That beat expectations for a decline of 6.2 percent following the 1.5 percent increase in November. On a yearly basis, core machine orders jumped 11.8 percent - again exceeding expectations for a fall of 3.0 percent after tumbling 11.3 percent in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 51703.83, down by 400.34 points or 0.77% after trading in a range of 51586.34 and 52078.15. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.53%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.54%, Power up by 1.26%, Telecom up by 0.95%, Energy up by 0.84% and Industrials up by 0.83%, while Healthcare down by 0.91%, IT down by 0.89%, Bankex down by 0.70%, Realty down by 0.65% and FMCG down by 0.59% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.39%, Power Grid up by 2.04%, NTPC up by 1.33%, Reliance Industries up by 1.12% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.80%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.61%, Asian Paints down by 2.48%, HDFC Bank down by 2.48% and Indusind Bank down by 2.46% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, highlighting that India’s energy demand is going to increase in the future, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has said that by balancing accessibility and affordability, India is creating a global model of energy justice and India will chart its own strategy and pathway for its green energy transition.

The Minister further said that ensuring access to clean cooking fuel to every household of the country has been a key strategy of Modi government for ending energy poverty. Talking about the gas based economy, Pradhan said that investment of 60 billion US dollars is underway for developing gas infrastructure which includes pipelines, city gas distribution and LNG regasification terminals.

Besides, he said that One Nation, One-Gas Grid will connect all corners of India. He mentioned about Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Gas Pipeline in eastern states and Indradhanush Gas Pipeline covering entire North Eastern States. He added that CGD network is being expanded to provide equitable access to clean cooking fuel across India.

The CNX Nifty ended at 15208.90, down by 104.55 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 15170.75 and 15314.30. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 3.54%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.02%, SBI up by 2.34%, Power Grid up by 2.00% and NTPC up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.76%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.63%, Asian Paints down by 2.53%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.52% and HDFC Bank down by 2.47% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 29.14 points or 0.43% to 6,719.72, France’s CAC decreased 14.71 points or 0.25% to 5,771.82 and Germany’s DAX was down by 67.07 points or 0.48% to 13,997.53.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday as worries about surging US bond yields on inflation bets kept the market sentiments weaker, though growing investor optimism over the global recovery restricted the fall. US House Democrats has continued to move forward with President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion relief package. Japanese shares declined amid profit booking after a recent rally. Japan’s exports rose 6.4% in January as compared with a year earlier, Ministry of Finance data showed. Meanwhile, Chinese markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Asian Indices

Last Trade           

Change in Points

Change in %

Shanghai Composite

-
-
-

Hang Seng

31,084.94
338.28
1.10

Jakarta Composite

6,227.73
-64.67
-1.03

KLSE Composite

1,595.29

-10.85

-0.68

Nikkei 225

30,292.19
-175.56
-0.58

Straits Times

2,920.43
-14.91
-0.51

KOSPI Composite

3,133.73
-29.52
-0.93

Taiwan Weighted

16,362.29
559.89
3.54


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