Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Monday. Benchmarks started the session on optimistic note, amid a private report that recovering from the economic slump caused by the pandemic, hiring trends saw an improvement in August. The previous month saw a 26% on-year increase in hiring activity to 2.78 lakh. Also, the RBI data showed that the country's foreign exchange reserves soared by $16.663 billion to touch a lifetime high of $633.558 billion in the week ended August 27, mainly due to an increase in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) holdings.

Key indices remained higher for the whole trading session, as domestic sentiments were positive, after the Income Tax Department of India said that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued refunds of over Rs 67,401 crore to more than 23.99 lakh taxpayers between April 1 and August 16. It further said that the income tax refunds of Rs 16,373 crore have been issued in 22,61,918 cases and corporate tax refunds of Rs 51,029 crore have been issued in 1,37,327 cases.

Some support came with a private report that the government's collections from levy of excise duty on petroleum products have jumped 48 per cent in the first four months of the current fiscal year, with the incremental mop-up being 3-times of the repayment liability of legacy oil bonds in the full fiscal. Traders also took note of member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) -- Shashanka Bhide’s statement that revival of the Indian economy would be sustained if the COVID-19 pandemic is under control. 

Finally markets ended in green terrain, as the government is likely to extend an incentive scheme 'the Indian Footwear Leather and Accessories Development Programme (IFLADP)' for leather and footwear industries till 2025-26, to further boost manufacturing, exports and job creation. The commerce and industry ministry has submitted a proposal for implementation of the IFLADP with an outlay of Rs 1,700 crore, to be incurred during 2021-22 to 2025-26, and the Union Cabinet may soon approve the same.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher boosted by optimism that curbs to central bank stimulus will be delayed, while traders focused on new additions to Germany’s benchmark. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday, even after Singapore retail sales increased at a softer pace in July. The data from the Department of Statistics showed that retail sales grew 0.2 percent year-on-year in July, after a 26.0 percent rise in June. Motor vehicle sales declined 9.8 percent annually in July, after an 80.6 percent growth in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 58296.91, up by 166.96 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 58200.29 and 58515.85. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.18%, while Small cap index up by 0.59%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.97%, IT up by 1.48%, Consumer Durables up by 1.43%, TECK up by 1.25% and Energy up by 0.78%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.66%, Utilities down by 0.52%, Power down by 0.52%, Bankex down by 0.42% and Telecom down by 0.38% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech. up by 2.17%, Infosys up by 1.75%, Reliance Industries up by 1.52%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.93% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.13%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.86%, Power Grid down by 0.71%, Sun Pharma down by 0.62% and Asian Paints down by 0.61% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with an aim to increase exports through quality production and processing, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICAR-Indian Institute of Millet Research (ICAR-IIMR) which is expected to boost value addition and farmers’ income.

The key focus of the MoU would be to promote commercial cultivation of processable varieties developed by ICAR-IIMR for exports which is expected to promote value addition of millets, a cereal with high nutritive value.

MoU also envisages creation of market linkages with farmers as well as Farmer Producers Organizations. A joint coordination committee with representatives from APEDA and ICAR-IIMR would be set up to achieve the goals envisaged under the MoU.

The objective of the MoU is to build the export centric ecosystem with the requisite supply chain linkages, technological repository, clinical studies, awareness creation, policy changes and pipeline of entrepreneurs.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17377.80, up by 54.20 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 17345.55 and 17429.55. There were 27 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 4.79%, HCL Tech. up by 2.16%, Infosys up by 1.75%, Hindalco up by 1.72% and Reliance Industries up by 1.55%. On the flip side, Indian Oil Corp. down by 1.33%, ONGC down by 1.18%, Indusind Bank down by 1.18%, Britannia down by 1.09% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.97% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 32.34 points or 0.45% to 7,170.69, France’s CAC increased 35.19 points or 0.53% to 6,725.18 and Germany’s DAX was up by 87.46 points or 0.55% to 15,868.66.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday as disappointing US hiring data in August fuelled expectations the US central bank would not rush in tapering its asset buying plans in the September meeting. Data showed that US economy added just 235,000 jobs in August, compared to an estimate of 750,000. Chinese shares gained after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to set up a new stock exchange in Beijing, a primary platform for smaller firms to meet their financing needs, while investors awaited cues from China's trade and inflation data due out later in the week. Japanese shares rose on optimism that the Cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide's successor would strengthen corona-virus measures and provide economic relief.