Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in red terrain on Thursday. After a negative start, markets remained volatile during the trading session, as the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to India declined to $74.01 billion in the calendar year 2021, which is 15 per cent lower from $87.55 billion recorded in the previous year. Traders remained cautious with private report stating that domestic banks' share in the overall commercial credit has plunged to a low of 34 per cent in FY2021 from 56 per cent in FY2011 partly due to the pandemic and more because companies are moving away from banks for funds.

Trade was volatile, as worries persist over the street, after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the government is in continuous dialogue with exporters to address the problems and challenges that are emerging due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and could lead to some kind of disruption in trade. Some worries also came after a top official of mobile phone industry body said that more needs to be done for improving ease of doing business, especially change in the mindset of revenue authorities which continue to be unfriendly at times.

However, losses were limited after a sharp negative start of the day, as Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal indicated that India’s merchandise exports rose by 37 per cent to $400.8 billion in 2021-22 until March 21, 2022 as against $292 billion in 2020-21, on healthy performance by sectors such as petroleum products, engineering, gems and jewellery, and chemicals. Traders took note of report that the commerce ministry will extend the existing foreign trade policy (FTP) for some more months beyond March 31.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher helped by gains in defensive sectors. Asian markets ended mixed, even after the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in March, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 53.2. That's up from 52.7 in February and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex ended at 57595.68, down by 89.14 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 57138.51 and 57827.99. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.34%, while Small cap index up by 0.16%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.61%, Energy up by 1.21%, TECK up by 1.13%, Oil & Gas up by 1.13% and IT up by 1.01%, while Bankex down by 1.69%, Consumer Durables down by 1.58%, Auto down by 0.54%, Consumer Disc down by 0.21% and FMCG down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 4.90%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.77%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.75%, Reliance Industries up by 1.50% and Tata Steel up by 1.48%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.09%, Titan Co down by 2.63%, HDFC Bank down by 2.23%, ICICI Bank down by 1.94% and HDFC down by 1.50% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the Institute of Competitiveness, is all set to release the second edition of the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2021 on March 25, which can be used by States and UTs to benchmark their performance against their peers and analyze the potential challenges to develop better policy mechanisms to foster export-led growth at the subnational level.

The release of the second edition of the index - the first was launched in August 2020 - demonstrates the Government’s continued commitment towards promoting competitive federalism wherein each state can identify their export opportunities and challenges and subsequently establish context-specific strategies for ensuring a conducive export ecosystem.

The Export Preparedness Index ranks all States and Union Territories (UTs) on the basis of their export readiness and performance. EPI 2021 is based on four main pillars: policy; business ecosystem; export ecosystem; and export performance.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17222.75, down by 22.90 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 17091.15 and 17291.75. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 4.87%, Coal India up by 2.38%, Hindalco up by 2.22%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.89% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.14%, Titan Co down by 2.66%, HDFC Bank down by 2.47%, ICICI Bank down by 1.96% and HDFC down by 1.53% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 17.23 points or 0.23% to 7,477.86, France’s CAC increased 44.26 points or 0.67% to 6,625.69 and Germany’s DAX was up by 51.17 points or 0.36% to 14,334.82.

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday as more hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials on interest rate hikes made investors more cautious. Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday signaled that they stand ready to take more aggressive action to cool down inflation, including a possible of 50-basis-point interest rate hike at the next policy meeting in May. Meanwhile, ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine also weighed on market sentiments. Chinese shares declined amid rising Sino-US tensions after Washington sought to deter China from aiding sanctions-hit Russia. Japanese shares gained after manufacturing data for March showed improvement from the previous month. Data showed that Japan’s Manufacturing Industry PMI rose to 53.2 and the service sector PMI to 48.7. Seoul shares declined after jump in oil prices raised concerns about persistently high inflation.