Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended with notable gains on Thursday, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looked set to win four of the five key state elections. After a strong start, key indices remained higher during the trading session, as Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said the venture capitalists have played a pivotal role in India's startup story and the economic growth of the country. Addressing the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association's (IVCA) Conclave, he said they have been driving innovation and bringing new ideas to the fore.

Expectation of positive outcome from Russia-Ukraine talks has also boosted market sentiments. In another positive development, crude oil showed highest single day fall in last two years after OPEC+ member the United Arab Emirate said it supporting pumping more oils into the markets which in supply crunch due to sanctions on Russian oil by the United States. If OPEC+ nations agreed to increase production could restrict gains of crude oil in upcoming session. Besides, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 11 budget-related webinars over the last few weeks during which valuable suggestions were also received from stakeholders to aid the effective implementation of the budget announcements.

Traders overlooked India Ratings and Research’s (Ind-Ra) report that the country's current account deficit (CAD) is likely to widen to a 13-quarter high of $23.6 billion or 2.8 per cent of GDP in October-December 2021-22 (Q3FY22) as against a deficit of $9.6 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) in Q2 FY22, due to higher commodity prices following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In Q3 FY21, the deficit was $2.2 billion (0.3 per cent of GDP). Traders took a note of Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan’s statement that India needs to recalibrate its response to the price situation following disruptions in global supply chains on account of Russia-Ukraine war, as losing the battle against inflation neither serves the government nor the central bank.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower as investors monitor the war in Ukraine and fluctuations in commodity prices. Asian markets ended mostly in green, after Malaysia's unemployment rate remained stable in January, while the number of those without jobs decreased. The data from the Department of Statistics showed that the jobless rate remained unchanged at 4.2 percent in January. In the same month last year, the unemployment rate was 4.9 percent. The number of unemployed persons decreased to 680,400 in January from 687,600 in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 55464.39, up by 817.06 points or 1.50% after trading in a range of 54982.82 and 56242.47. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.06%, while Small cap index up by 1.18%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 2.68%, Realty up by 2.16%, Metal up by 2.04%, Bankex up by 1.98% and Basic Materials up by 1.97%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 5.17%, Tata Steel up by 4.27%, SBI up by 3.70%, Indusind Bank up by 3.28% and Axis Bank up by 3.04%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.28%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.78% and TCS down by 0.36% were only losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in order to specify the rate of royalty in respect of Glauconite, Potash, Emerald, Platinum Group of Metals (PGM), Andalusite, Sillimanite and Molybdenum, the Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Mines for amendment of Second Schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

The approval would ensure auction of mineral blocks in respect of Glauconite, Potash, Emerald, Platinum Group of Metals, Andalusite and Molybdenum thereby reducing import of these minerals, generating empowerment opportunity in the mining sector as well as manufacturing sector which will help in ensuring inclusive growth of a large section of the society.  Rate of royalty for Andalusite, Sillimanite and Kyanite which are mineral polymorphs are kept at the same level.

The approval will lead to import substitution in respect of many important minerals for the economy of the country thereby saving valuable forex reserves.  It will reduce country’s foreign dependency through the local production of minerals.  The approval would ensure auction of mineral blocks in respect of Glauconite, Potash, Emerald, Platinum Group of metals, Andalusite and Molybdenum for the first time in the country.

The CNX Nifty ended at 16594.90, up by 249.55 points or 1.53% after trading in a range of 16447.90 and 16757.30. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 5.21%, Tata Steel up by 4.25%, Grasim Industries up by 4.12%, SBI up by 3.76% and JSW Steel up by 3.76%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 4.13%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.29%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.97%, ONGC down by 0.60% and TCS down by 0.32% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 71.40 points or 0.99% to 7,119.32, France’s CAC decreased 119.35 points or 1.87% to 6,268.48 and Germany’s DAX was down by 274.27 points or 1.98% to 13,573.66.

Asian markets ended higher on Thursday amid slightly easing worries about inflation following a drop in commodity prices. Traders were also picking up stocks at a bargain after the recent sell-off due to the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stringent sanctions imposed on Russia. Traders also remained optimistic amid ongoing talks to diffuse the Russia-Ukraine crisis, with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky no longer pressing for NATO membership for Ukraine, a delicate issue that was one of Russia's stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbour. Chinese markets ended higher after Ukraine said it is ready to make reasonable concessions to end the war.