Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended near their intraday high points on Wednesday’s trading session. After a positive start, markets remained higher for the whole trading day, as traders got relief, after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank will continue to monitor the emerging COVID-19 situation and will deploy all resources and instruments at its command for citizens, business entities, and institutions beleaguered by the second wave. In the first half of the trading session, gains were limited in the markets, as India's services sector activities eased to a three-month low in April, as the rise in business activity was constrained by the pandemic and sentiment towards growth prospects faded. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell to 54 in April from 54.6 in March, the slowest increase in output in three months. Besides, India reported 382,691 fresh Covid-19 cases. With this, the cumulative caseload stands at 20,658,234, Worldometer showed.

However, key indices added gains in the second half of the trading session, as RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das unveiled liquidity support measures amid rising Covid-19 cases in India. RBI announced a slew of measures including loan restructuring for individual and small businesses hit hard by fresh COVID-19 wave. To augment supply of goods for COVID care, the central bank opened Rs 50,000 crore on-tap window to ease access to emergency health services to boost provision of immediate liquidity for ramping up COVID-19 related healthcare infrastructure and services in the country. Market participants largely overlooked S&P Global Ratings’ statement that an ongoing second wave of COVID-19 infections in India could hurt its near-term economic recovery and possibly diminish growth for the full year. It added that India's COVID wave will inevitably hit the recovery and could push growth below 10%.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher after a sharp selloff in the previous session, helped by gains in commodity and banking stocks, while optimism about a strong earnings season and a speedy economic recovery dominated the markets. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday, even after the manufacturing sector in Thailand swung to expansion in April, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.7. That's up from 48.8 in March and it moves remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The increase reflected the new orders and output components. The stocks of purchases and suppliers' delivery times components also provided positive directional influences on the headline figure, while the contribution of employment was again broadly neutral.

The BSE Sensex ended at 48677.55, up by 424.04 points or 0.88% after trading in a range of 48254.32 and 48742.72. There were 26 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged 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 0.77%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 3.06%, Bankex up by 1.67%, Basic Materials up by 1.33%, Metal up by 1.14% and IT up by 1.09%, while Realty down by 1.15% was the only losing index on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 5.94%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.42%, Axis Bank up by 2.41%, Indusind Bank up by 2.33% and ICICI Bank up by 1.88%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.75%, Asian Paints down by 0.79% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.57% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in view of the massive surge in COVID-19 cases, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that the central bank will continue to monitor the emerging COVID-19 situation and will deploy all resources and instruments at its command for citizens, business entities, and institutions beleaguered by the second wave.

Das further noted that RBI will closely monitor the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on macroeconomic and financial conditions, adding that CPI inflation is dubbed to 5.5 per cent in March '21 from 5.0 per cent in February, on the back of a pick-up in food and fuel inflation.

RBI Governor further said that localised and targeted containment measures are enabling businesses and households to adapt; hence, effect on aggregate demand is expected to be moderate in comparison to last year. He also saluted the contribution of health care workers, law enforcement and other frontline workers who have been battling the COVID-19 pandemic selflessly.

The CNX Nifty ended at 14617.85, up by 121.35 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 14506.60 and 14637.90. There were 44 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 5.93%, UPL up by 4.82%, Axis Bank up by 2.41%, Indusind Bank up by 2.31% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.20%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 3.99%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.79%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.00%, Asian Paints down by 0.75% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.54% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 81.76 points or 1.18% to 7,004.93, France’s CAC increased 60.88 points or 0.97% to 6,312.63 and Germany’s DAX was up by 206.93 points or 1.39% to 15,063.41.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday in thin trading after Wall Street's slide overnight after Janet Yellen suggested interest rates may have to rise modestly to prevent the American economy from overheating amid the recent spike in government spending. Meanwhile, Chinese, Japanese and South Korean markets were closed for holidays. Further, Hong Kong shares ended lower ahead of the reopening of China markets, while the latest survey from Markit Economics showed that the private sector in Hong Kong continued to expand in April, albeit at a slower pace, with a services PMI score of 50.3 down from 50.5 in March.