Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in deep red on Thursday. Markets made cautious start, as rising coronavirus cases weighted down on market sentiments. India recorded a spike of 45,196 new infections, taking the total caseload to 30,708,092, according to Worldometer. Adding some pessimism, Fitch Ratings cut India's growth forecast to 10 per cent for the current fiscal, from 12.8 per cent estimated earlier, due to slowing recovery post second wave of COVID-19, and said rapid vaccination could support a sustainable revival in business and consumer confidence.

Weak trade continued over the Dalal Street for the whole trading session. Traders seem to have overlooked domestic rating agency ICRA’s latest report stating that the banking system's gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) are set to decline to at least 7.1 percent by March 2022, as against 7.6 percent at FY21-end. The NPAs will go lower on higher recoveries and upgrades, and also faster credit growth. It also said that the fresh accretion to the NPAs will be higher in FY22 due to the absence of any regulatory dispensations like moratoriums.

In the second half of the trading session, key indices added more losses to end in red. Investors remained concerned with a private report stating that the India's retail inflation likely to accelerate to seven-month high in June on rising food and fuel prices, staying above the Reserve Bank of India's comfort zone for a second straight month. While many of India's states have eased restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus, supply-side disruptions remain and higher taxes on petroleum products continue to exert upward pressure on inflation.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower with cyclical stocks such as miners, automakers, and banks leading early declines, as global mood soured on economic recovery worries. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday, even after Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,979.7 billion yen in May, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday - up 85.3 percent on year. That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 1,820.4 billion following the 1,321.8 billion yen surplus in April. Exports jumped 46.5 percent on year to 6,183.2 billion yen, while imports spiked an annual 6,181.2 billion yen for a trade surplus of 2.0 billion yen.

The BSE Sensex ended at 52568.94, down by 485.82 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 52428.84 and 53103.03. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.37%, while Small cap index was down by 0.09%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.57% and Power up by 0.21%, while Metal down by 2.43%, Bankex down by 1.39%, PSU down by 1.25%, Basic Materials down by 1.20% and Auto down by 0.98% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.32%, HCL Tech. up by 0.15%, Power Grid up by 0.15%, NTPC up by 0.09% and Indusind Bank up by 0.06%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 2.71%, Tata Steel down by 2.30%, Sun Pharma down by 1.96%, SBI down by 1.88% and ICICI Bank down by 1.83% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest report has showed that passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales rose to 1,84,134 units last month (June)  against 85,733 units in May this year as the COVID-19 situation improved across the country.

According to the report, two-wheeler sales rose to 9,30,324 units last month as compared to 4,10,757 units in May. Similarly, commercial vehicle sales increased to 35,700 units as against 17,534 in May.

FADA further noted that three-wheeler sales surged to 14,732 units in June from 5,215 units in May. Tractor sales too witnessed an increase in registrations at 52,261 units as compared to 16,616 units.

The CNX Nifty ended at 15727.90, down by 151.75 points or 0.96% after trading in a range of 15682.90 and 15885.75. There were 8 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 1.36%, SBI Life Insurance up by 0.71%, Eicher Motors up by 0.68%, HCL Tech. up by 0.15% and Shree Cement up by 0.13%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 3.39%, JSW Steel down by 3.21%, Hindalco down by 2.68%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.65% and ONGC down by 2.38% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 100.58 points or 1.41% to 7,050.44, France’s CAC decreased 123.38 points or 1.89% to 6,404.34 and Germany’s DAX was down by 216.72 points or 1.38% to 15,475.99.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday with concerns over the fresh wave of Covid-19 infections in several Asian countries. Chinese shares settled down after Chinese officials flagged the possibility of a reserve requirement ratio cut to support the economy, while China's crackdown on technology companies too hitting the markets again today. Hong Kong shares dropped as tech firms tumbled amid persistent regulatory fears. Malaysian shares declined after the biggest political party of the country's ruling coalition called for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to resign for failing to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. South Korean shares fell as the country reported its highest ever one-day rise in new Covid-19 cases, which prompting authorities to consider imposing a semi-lockdown in the capital Seoul.  Japanese shares diminished as the country’s plan to reintroduce a state of emergency for Tokyo to contain coronavirus infections ahead of Olympics.