Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended near day’s high points on Wednesday. Markets made a positive start of the day, as sentiments got boost with report that the Agriculture Ministry is ready with a new central scheme to promote natural farming in the country with an estimated outlay of Rs 2,500 crore. The proposed new scheme on natural farming will soon be placed before the Cabinet for approval. Some support came as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the interest equalisation scheme for pre and post shipment rupee credit for Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) exporters till March 2024 with the objective of boosting outbound shipments.

Firm trade continued over the Dalal during the trading session. Traders were positive, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Union budget for 2022-23 was about the philosophy of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant Bharat) as customs duties were increased on those imported products which are also manufactured in India so that people buy the Indian equivalent. However, duties have not been increased on the products produced within the country. Besides, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a unified payments interface (UPI) service for feature phones, a move which is expected to give a big boost to digital payment adoption in the country.

Key indices gained traction in the second half of the trading session, after Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the setting up National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC) as a wholly owned Government of India company. With monetization of non-core assets, Government would be able to generate substantial revenues by monetizing unused and under-used assets. Traders overlooked rating agency Icra’s report in which it has warned of serious downside risks to the economy in next fiscal (FY23) with runaway current account deficit, steep fall in the rupee and a hardening yields on government bonds, as a result of the Russian-Ukraine crisis and the resultant spike in crude and other commodity prices.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher amid investors continued to monitor surging commodity prices and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Asian markets ended mostly higher, after Japan's gross domestic product expanded an annualized 4.6 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday - well shy of forecasts for a gain of 5.6 percent following the downwardly revised 2.8 percent contraction in the previous three months (originally -2.7 percent). On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP was up just 1.1 percent - again missing expectations for 1.4 percent after shrinking 0.7 percent in the three months prior.

The BSE Sensex ended at 54647.33, up by 1223.24 points or 2.29% after trading in a range of 53367.52 and 54893.73. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 2.37%, while Small cap index up by 2.16%.(Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 3.58%, Realty up by 3.16%, Auto up by 2.92%, Consumer Disc up by 2.72% and Industrials up by 2.54%, while Metal down by 0.69%, Utilities down by 0.10% and Power down by 0.03% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 5.56%, Reliance Industries up by 5.24%, Bajaj Finance up by 5.13%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.94% and Indusind Bank up by 4.18%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.89%, NTPC down by 1.57%, Tata Steel down by 1.15%, Nestle down by 0.88% and Wipro down by 0.31% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, raising some concerns, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hinted that the current spike in international oil prices may upset provisions of her Union Budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1. Sitharaman added that it will certainly have an impact on the Indian economy.

Noting that India imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements, Sitharaman said ‘when oil prices go up, it is a matter of concern and now we will have to see how it pans out.’ The Minister said that oil marketing companies fix pump prices daily based on a 15-day rolling average.

Nirmala Sitharaman further said ‘but now averages and beyond averages are the numbers that we are talking about. She said the government is watching to see if there are alternative sources from where it can get crude, but hastened to add ‘obviously global markets are all equally unthinkable at various sources.’

The CNX Nifty ended at 16345.35, up by 331.90 points or 2.07% after trading in a range of 15990.00 and 16418.05. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 5.56%, Reliance Industries up by 5.31%, Bajaj Finance up by 5.04%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.88% and Indusind Bank up by 4.12%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 2.74%, ONGC down by 2.07%, Power Grid down by 2.00%, NTPC down by 1.68% and Coal India down by 1.32% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 120.38 points or 1.73% to 7,084.49, France’s CAC increased 199.49 points or 3.35% to 6,162.45 and Germany’s DAX was up by 465.97 points or 3.63% to 13,297.48.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday despite the broadly negative cues overnight from US markets, amid the continued spike in crude oil prices and as traders picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent sell-off. However, the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western countries rendered the mood cautious. There were concerns about global oil supply after U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on import of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal. The surging energy prices will lead to higher inflation, encouraging the Federal Reserve to more aggressively raise interest rates. Japanese shares gave up early gains to end slightly lower, extending losses for the fourth straights session amid concerns about inflationary risks and a slowdown in the global economy.