Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in red terrain on Wednesday. After a positive start, markets remained higher during the first half of the trading session, as RBI article said the economy is gaining traction with gradual pick up in manufacturing activity and moderation in contraction of services, spurred by comfortable liquidity conditions. Some support also came in as the government announced the much-awaited guidelines and tax refund rates for the export boosting scheme Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) for 8,555 export items. Adding optimism, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the National Automobile Scrappage Policy will accelerate economic growth and boost employment generation in the country.

Domestic sentiments remained positive with Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel’s statement that the announcement of Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) rates will help in easing liquidity and enhance the competitiveness of domestic exporters over a long-time horizon. He also said the commerce ministry should quickly upload the rates in the system so that exporters can generate their scrips instantly for utilising the benefits under the scheme. Indices remained higher, as Regulator Sebi has amended regulations for alternative investment funds and market infrastructure institutions, including stock exchanges, to facilitate the ease of doing business and simplify compliance requirements.

However, in the second half of the trading session, key indices cut all of their gains to end the day on a lower note. Gains got trimmed, after traders' association CAIT said that the change of regime in Afghanistan and the uncertainty over future will hit the bilateral trade between the country and India. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) also cautioned domestic exporters and sought the Centre's intervention in preventing losses to the business community. Sentiment on the street weakened, as CMIE’s latest data showed that unemployment rate in urban India has been on the rise since the beginning of the current month. From 8.03% for the week ended August 1, it jumped to 9.96% in the next week and further to an eight-week high of 10.23% for the week ended August 15. At a time when the rural joblessness is hovering between 6-7% since July - it touched 7.01% for the week ended August 15, the spike in urban unemployment rate to double-digit reflects the continued labour market stress in the non-agricultural sectors.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower, making muted moves following a larger-than-expected drop in consumer price index figures in the UK. Asian markets settled higher on Wednesday, after Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 441 billion yen in July, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 202.3 billion yen following the upwardly revised 384 billion yen surplus in June (originally 383.2 billion yen). Exports were up 37.0 percent on year to 7.356 trillion yen - shy of expectations for an increase of 39 percent and down from 48.6 percent in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 55629.49, down by 162.78 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 55514.89 and 56118.57. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.26%, while Small cap index down by 0.18%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 0.30%, FMCG up by 0.24%, Oil & Gas up by 0.24%, Consumer Durables up by 0.17% and Consumer Disc up by 0.08%, while Metal down by 0.96%, Bankex down by 0.96%, Realty down by 0.67%, PSU down by 0.35% and IT down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.46%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.12%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.78%, Nestle up by 0.91% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.09%, ICICI Bank down by 1.80%, Power Grid down by 1.42%, Indusind Bank down by 1.11% and HDFC down by 1.06% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal has said that today, technology & ideas are the twin engines of growth, IPR is the fuel that powers them and this award not only recognises the innovative ideas of individuals & institutions but also serves as an inspiration for others. He said there is need to bring an IP revolution for Inclusive Progress in the nation and strengthening IPR laws. He said it will boost job creation, quality, competitiveness & manufacturing.

Further, the Minister said that powered by Intellectual Property, India can be the 'Innovation Powerhouse' of the world. Goyal said that Intellectual Property Rights actually translates into India’s progress in real-time and extend Intellectual Property Right to India’s Prosperity Right. He also said “we must aim to make India the Design hub of World”.

Besides, he said one major initiative in this direction has been - National IPR Policy for “Creative India, Innovative India”. He said other key initiatives are Fee Concessions like 10% rebate on online filing, 80% fee concession for Start-ups & Small Entities. The Minister said that IPR filing procedures are now more compact, time-bound, user-friendly & compatible for e-transactions. He said that comprehensive e-Filing facility, Electronic processing of Patents & Trademarks applications, are bringing transparency & ease of access for those IPR seekers.

The CNX Nifty ended at 16568.85, down by 45.75 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 16535.85 and 16701.85. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 2.94%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.60%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.09%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.84% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.83%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.21%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.16%, ICICI Bank down by 1.84%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.83% and Tata Motors down by 1.46% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 30.24 points or 0.42% to 7,150.87, France’s CAC decreased 26.07 points or 0.38% to 6,793.77 and Germany’s DAX was down by 39.22 points or 0.25% to 15,882.73.

Asian markets settled higher on Wednesday ahead of minutes from July’s meeting of the Fed policy committee for clues on the central bank's tapering plans. Chinese and Hong Kong shares ended higher, even after Chinese market regulator on Tuesday issued draft rules to prevent unfair competition on the internet. Japanese shares rose tracking gains in defensive stocks, while Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially expanded and extended the nation's corona-virus state of emergency to counter a spike in Covid-19 cases threatening the medical system.