Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended last trading day of the week on a weak note. After a negative start, markets remained lower during the trading session, amid nervousness among investors globally tracking news flow on the Russia-Ukraine war. The talks between Ukraine and Russia have not seemed to make any headway and thus high volatility amid rising commodity and oil prices continue. Some cautiousness came in with a private report that India's trade and current account deficits are likely to widen, putting pressure on the rupee, as global oil prices surge and the domestic economy reopens from a third wave of the pandemic.

However, in afternoon deals, key indices staged recovery, after India’s service sector activity improved in the month of February, as COVID-19 cases declined and restrictions were lifted. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index surged to 51.8 in February from 51.5 in January. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also improved to 53.5 in February from 53.0 in January.

But, markets failed to sustain recovery and again added losses, as traders also took a note of private report stated that the value of foreign portfolio investors' (FPI) holdings in domestic equities reached $654 billion in three months ended December 2021, a drop of nearly 2 per cent from the preceding quarter. Traders were cautious, as the CBIC cautioned the public against sharing Aadhaar and PAN details without a valid reason or for monetary gains, saying that the information could be misused by fraudsters for GST evasion.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, after the unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent in January. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that exceeded expectations for 2.7 percent, which would have been unchanged from the December reading. The jobs-to-applicant ratio was 1.20, beating forecasts for 1,16, which would have been steady from the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 54333.81, down by 768.87 points or 1.40% after trading in a range of 53887.72 and 55013.27. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 2.36%, while Small cap index down by 1.64%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto down by 3.40%, Metal down by 3.35%, Consumer Disc down by 3.23%, Consumer Durables down by 3.20% and Realty down by 3.06%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.78%, ITC up by 2.64%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.39%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.20% and Sun Pharma up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 5.27%, Maruti Suzuki down by 4.73%, Asian Paints down by 4.43%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.87% and Hindustan Unilever down by 3.43% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India’s service sector activity improved in the month of February, as COVID-19 cases declined and restrictions were lifted. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index surged to 51.8 in February from 51.5 in January. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also improved to 53.5 in February from 53.0 in January.

The report noted that there was a faster increase in new business inflows to service providers that was nevertheless weaker than seen on average over the survey history. However, international demand for Indian services remained subdued in February, as indicated by a further decline in new business from abroad. Moreover, the rate of reduction was solid and the fastest since last September.

On the inflation front, companies indicated higher operating expenses in February, with chemical, energy, food, fuel, labour, metal, plastic and retail costs reported as the key drivers of inflation. The overall rate of increase was sharp, but eased from January's ten-year high. Charges levied by service providers were revised upwards in February as companies continued to transfer additional cost burdens to clients.

Meanwhile, business confidence strengthened in February, owing to expectations that the pandemic will continue to retreat and that increased focus on customer engagement would bear fruit. That said, the overall degree of optimism was historically muted amid lingering concerns surrounding inflationary pressures and COVID-19.

The CNX Nifty ended at 16245.35, down by 252.70 points or 1.53% after trading in a range of 16133.80 and 16456.00. There were 9 stocks advancing against 40 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.95%, ITC up by 2.78%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.89%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.16% and Sun Pharma up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 5.18%, Asian Paints down by 4.66%, Maruti Suzuki down by 4.58%, Tata Motors down by 4.54% and Hero MotoCorp down by 4.39% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 86.51 points or 1.2% to 7,152.34, France’s CAC decreased 125.04 points or 1.96% to 6,253.33 and Germany’s DAX was down by 268.41 points or 1.96% to 13,429.99.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as Ukraine's nuclear regulator said a fire broke out at a building on the site of the country's biggest nuclear power plant after shelling by Russian forces. Traders also remain worried as the sanctions imposed on Russia along with the subsequent surge in oil prices could derail the economic recovery. Chinese stocks ended lower on worries over the worsening Ukraine crisis and property market uncertainties. Japanese shares fell the most in two weeks as the Russia-Ukraine conflict entered its ninth day.