Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in green on Friday. After a positive start, key indices remained higher for the whole trading session, as a fall in the number of Covid cases in the country supported the sentiment on D-Street. Fresh daily cases remained below the 1 lakh mark for the fourth day straight as India reported 91,000 cases in the last 24 hours. The steady decline in cases is igniting hopes of the further reopening of the economy, providing support to market mood. Traders took encouragement with Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan’s statement that India's export of agricultural and allied products in 2020-21 grew by 17.34 per cent to $41.25 billion, and this growth momentum is expected to be sustained in the current fiscal as well.

However, some gains got trimmed during afternoon deals, after a US think-tank has observed that India's domestic challenges due to COVID-19 crisis have become a threat to its regional and global ambitions. It warned that unless it recovers with the help of allies like the United States, the pandemic could impact the geopolitical balance in the Indo-Pacific. It said as such, it is in the United States' best interests to help India retain its status as a pre-eminent power in South Asia, particularly in view of China's efforts to bolster its position at the expense of the US and India.

Finally, markets ended higher, as the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in its report stated that the gradual unlocking process across India is likely to restore about two-thirds of the 25 million non-farm jobs lost following the lockdown in May. That would be 17 million out of the 25 million non-farm jobs lost during the month. Traders also found some solace with credit rating agency Icra Ratings’ report that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow at 8.5 per cent in FY2021-22, with decline in number of fresh COVID-19 cases and easing of restrictions. It expects the gross value added (GVA) at basic prices (at constant 2011-12 prices) to grow at 7.3 per cent in FY2022.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher buoyed by hopes that major central banks will remain accommodative despite signs of rising inflation, while a rally in miners boosted UK shares.  Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, after export prices in South Korea were up 12.3 percent on year in May, the Bank of Korea said on Friday - up from 11.1 in April. Individually, prices for exports of agricultural goods fell 2.4 percent on year and manufacturing products climbed 12.4 percent. Import prices jumped an annual 13.8 percent on year in April, slowing from the 15.3 percent gain in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 52474.76, up by 174.29 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 52388.95 and 52641.53. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.(Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.14%, while Small cap index was up by 0.40%.(Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.21%, IT up by 1.47%, Energy up by 1.19%, TECK up by 1.18% and Basic Materials up by 0.92%, while Realty down by 1.06%, Capital Goods down by 0.66%, Bankex down by 0.36%, Telecom down by 0.34% and Consumer Durables down by 0.33% were the top losing indices on BSE.(Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 3.03%, Power Grid up by 1.97%, TCS up by 1.73%, Infosys up by 1.56% and HCL Tech. up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.07%, Indusind Bank down by 0.80%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.78%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.76% and ICICI Bank down by 0.71% were the top losers.(Provisional)

Meanwhile, auto industry body, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in its latest report has showed that passenger vehicle wholesales in India declined by 66 per cent to 88,045 units in May as compared to 2,61,633 units in April this year as lockdowns across various states impacted dispatches to dealers.

As per the report, two-wheeler dispatches to dealers dropped by 65 per cent to 3,52,717 units, compared to 9,95,097 units in April, while motorcycle sales declined 56 per cent last month to 2,95,257 units, as against 6,67,841 units in April.

The report further noted that scooter sales were down 83 per cent to 50,294 units, from 3,00,462 units in April this year, while three-wheeler sales declined by 91 per cent to 1,251 units, as compared to 13,728 units in April.

The CNX Nifty ended at 15799.35, up by 61.60 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 15749.80 and 15835.55. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.(Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.94%, Coal India up by 3.93%, JSW Steel up by 3.60%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 3.04% and Hindalco up by 2.01%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.07%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.96%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.95%, Indusind Bank down by 0.90% and Divis Lab down by 0.87% were the top losers.(Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 36.25 points or 0.51% to 7,124.43, France’s CAC increased 27.52 points or 0.42% to 6,574.01 and Germany’s DAX was up by 12.60 points or 0.08% to 15,583.82.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy meeting next week. Meanwhile, global investors are betting that spiking inflation would be temporary and the US Federal Reserve will maintain its ultra-loose monetary policies for some time. Chinese shares declined after data showed the country's broader credit growth continued to slow in May as the central bank seeks to contain rising debt. Japanese shares settled lower with investors remaining cautious about the pace of domestic economic recovery as the country grapples with a fourth wave of the corona virus pandemic.