Key indices snap 3-day losing streak; Nifty tops 17,200 mark

Indian equity benchmarks were trading lower but staged a comeback to end with gains of around half percent on Monday amid renewed buying in Oil & Gas, Banking and Energy shares. Besides, a fall in crude oil prices, and stability in global markets on hopes of fresh round of talks between Russia and Ukraine supported the sentiment. Both the indices had opened marginally lower earlier in the day and extended losses in the morning trade, as some cautiousness crept in as Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise a litre each on March 26, the fourth increase in five days as oil firms passed on to consumers the spike in cost of raw material. Sentiments remained down-beat with depositories data showed that overseas investors have pulled out a net Rs 1,14,855.97 crore from the Indian markets in the current year so far, amid heightened geopolitical tensions and inflation concerns. Foreign portfolio investors have sold domestic equities worth Rs 48,261.65 crore so far this month, taking the year-to-date tally this year to a massive Rs 1,14,855.97 crore. Some concern also came with report that as many as 421 infrastructure projects, each entailing investment of Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of more than Rs 4.73 lakh crore

However, key gauges erased their losses and turned positive towards the afternoon, as traders found support with Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar’s statement that the country can double its economy in about 7-8 years if it grows at the rate of 8 per cent, which is feasible as the country has sustained a growth rate of 8.5 per cent earlier for a long time. Some support also came as Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stating that Indian economy can grow consistently at 8 per cent for the next 20 years leading to the generation of up to 1.5 crore new jobs and bringing out 3.5 crore people out of the poverty every year on the basis of the capital investment strategy of the government. Adding to the optimism, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the free trade agreement between India and the UAE is likely to come into effect from May 1, 2022, under which domestic exporters of as many as 6,090 goods from sectors like textiles, agriculture, dry fruits, gem and jewellery would get duty-free access to the UAE market.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mixed on Monday amid lingering worries surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Amid increased concerns about high commodity prices and inflation growth, investors awaited speeches by several key Fed officials this week for clues on the pace of tightening. European markets were trading higher with a sharp pullback in crude prices and hopes of a peace deal in the Ukraine crisis offering some support. Back home, sugar industry stocks were in focus as the government said India’s sugar export is estimated to rise by 7 per cent to 75 lakh tonnes in 2021-22 marketing year ending September. Stocks related to rubber industry were in watch as the draft rubber bill has proposed a series of steps, including replacement of periodic licensing with one-time registration, removal of permission requirement for possession of natural rubber and laying down clear procedures for inspection, in order to promote ease of doing business and growth of the sector.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 231.29 points or 0.40% to 57,593.49 and the CNX Nifty was up by 69.00 points or 0.40% to 17,222.00.     

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 57,638.34 and 56,825.09, respectively. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.  

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.40%, while Small cap index was down by 0.53%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.07%, Bankex up by 1.01%, Energy up by 0.97%, Telecom up by 0.73% and Metal up by 0.70%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.61%, Healthcare down by 0.50%, Capital Goods down by 0.46%, IT down by 0.38% and Industrials down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 3.40%, Axis Bank up by 2.13%, ICICI Bank up by 1.59%, ITC up by 1.54% and SBI up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.83%, HDFC down by 1.58%, HCL Technologies down by 1.41%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.40% and Asian Paints down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing confidence over India’s healthy economic growth, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that the country can double its economy in about 7-8 years if it grows at the rate of 8 per cent, which is feasible as the country has sustained a growth rate of 8.5 per cent earlier for a long time.
Kumar said ‘if things remain normal, and we are not witnessing the fourth wave of the pandemic or any ghastly outcome in Ukraine then we can achieve 8 per cent growth because we have done that. If we can do it, we can achieve the doubling of the economy in about 7-8 years’.

Highlighting that the target of becoming a $5-trillion economy is not rhetoric, he said that the country is already a $2.7 trillion economy and it just needs to double it. Noting that India has sustained an 8.5 per cent growth rate in 2003-2011, he said ‘we must recognise the fact that India is the only country which will have to achieve this growth (8 per cent) while fully taking care of the environment’.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 17,235.10 and 17,003.90. There were 29 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 3.90%, Coal India up by 2.71%, Axis Bank up by 2.11%, Eicher Motors up by 1.63% and ICICI Bank up by 1.61%. On the flip side, UPL down by 2.32%, SBI Life Insurance down by 2.07%, Nestle down by 1.76%, HDFC down by 1.48% and HDFC Life Insurance Company down by 1.44% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 34.94 points or 0.47% to 7,518.29, France’s CAC increased 102.87 points or 1.57% to 6,656.55 and Germany’s DAX increased 245.39 points or 1.72% to 14,551.15.

Asian markets ended mixed on Monday ahead of speeches by several key Fed officials this week for clues on the pace of tightening. Further, concerns over surging Covid-19 cases in China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine also pressurizing market sentiments. Japanese shares declined on profit booking ahead of the fiscal year-end. The Bank of Japan said that it offered to buy unlimited amounts of 10-year Japanese government bonds at a fixed rate of 0.25 percent. However, Chinese shares gained, despite a lockdown in China’s Shanghai to curb Covid-19 outbreak.