Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in deep red on Monday. The start of the day was on a lower note, as sentiments were weak on report that the country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 1.34 billion to USD 641.113 billion in the week ended September 10, 2021, according to RBI data. During the reporting week ended September 10, the fall in the reserves was on account of a decline in Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves. Cautiousness also prevailed in the markets with President Ram Nath Kovind’s statement the Covid pandemic hit the country's economy hard and the government has taken various fiscal measures to alleviate distress and help the poor.

In late morning deals, key indices turned positive, as traders took some support with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that Simplification, facilitation and ease of doing business has helped India create more startups. For promoting startups, he said the government is creating future global leaders and wants to become the innovation hub of the world. Some support also came with Sebi data indicating that investment through participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market was at Rs 97,744 crore till August-end, and going forward the inflow is expected to remain positive for the rest of the year.

But, markets failed to hold gains and again turned negative to end the trading day in red terrain. Traders remained cautious, after businesses that default on filing summary return and paying monthly GST will not be able to file GSTR-1 sales return of the succeeding month from January 1 next year. The street overlooked a private report stating that corporate India handed over an average increment of 8 per cent in 2021, and early estimates reveal that average increment for 2022 is expected to increase to 8.6 per cent in line with a healing economy and improving confidence.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower amid concerns about the health of property giant China Evergrande Group and ahead of the week’s crucial Federal Reserve meeting. Asian markets settled lower on Monday, after Japan's government downgraded its economic assessment amid rising downside risks from the current domestic and overseas infections and negative effects through the supply chains.

The BSE Sensex ended at 58490.93, down by 524.96 points or 0.89% after trading in a range of 58389.69 and 59202.56. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.79%, while Small cap index down by 1.84%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was FMCG up by 0.68%, while Metal down by 6.80%, Basic Materials down by 4.14%, PSU down by 2.87%, Realty down by 2.16% and Utilities down by 1.92% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.84%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.10%, ITC up by 1.08%, HCL Tech. up by 0.88% and Nestle up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 9.53%, SBI down by 3.69%, Indusind Bank down by 3.50%, HDFC down by 2.90% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.30% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in continuation of its commitment to address the hardship being faced by various stakeholders on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Government has, on consideration of representations received from various stakeholders, decided to extend timelines for compliances under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

As per the notification, time limit for intimation of Aadhaar number to the Income tax Department for linking of PAN with Aadhaar has been extended from September 30, 2021 to March 31, 2022. The due date for completion of penalty proceedings under the Act has also been extended from September 30, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

Further, the time limit for issuance of notice and passing of order by the Adjudicating Authority under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 has also been extended to March 31, 2022.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17396.90, down by 188.25 points or 1.07% after trading in a range of 17361.80 and 17622.75. There were 9 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.87%, ITC up by 1.12%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.06%, HCL Tech. up by 1.02% and Britannia up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 9.58%, JSW Steel down by 7.20%, Hindalco down by 6.06%, UPL down by 4.95% and SBI down by 3.67% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 108.45 points or 1.56% to 6,855.19, France’s CAC decreased 129.27 points or 1.97% to 6,440.92 and Germany’s DAX was down by 330.32 points or 2.13% to 15,159.85.

Asian markets settled lower on Monday, tracking negative global cues ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting for clues on the central bank’s tapering of its easy monetary policy, while holidays in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan kept trading thin. Concerns over continued spread of the Covid-19 cases too weighed market sentiments. Hong Kong shares ended lower as property developer China Evergrande Group continuing to drop ahead of its bond payments deadline due later this week.