Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks remained under a grip of bears on Tuesday, with both Sensex and Nifty ending in deep red terrain. The start of the trading day was on a lower note, as Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) continued to be net sellers of domestic stocks on Monday. FIIs pulled out Rs 2,397 crore from domestic stocks. Traders remained cautious with ratings and research firm Acuite Ratings & Research’s report that the expectation of the expansion of the current account deficit is not just driven by elevated global commodity prices, but is also linked to the unlocking of the economy reviving pent-up demand and improved vaccination cover aiding an organic recovery in the economy.

Indices remained negative during the entire trading session, on the back of negative cues from European markets. Traders remained cautious ahead of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee decision on June 8, 2022 and surge in crude oil prices. Adding some worries, Automobile dealers' body Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has said retail sales of passenger vehicles grew last month of current year (May 2022) but the sales of two-wheeler and commercial vehicles remained low compared to the pre-COVID month of May 2019. The street overlooked reports that the Finance Ministry has released the 3rd monthly installment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant of Rs.7,183.42 crore to 14 States.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower on signs of economic slowdown ahead of a European Central Bank meeting that could signal monetary policy tightening. Asian markets ended mixed on Tuesday, after Thailand's consumer price inflation accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in May to reach its highest level in nearly fourteen years, mainly due to surging energy prices. The figures from the Ministry of Commerce revealed that the consumer price index climbed 7.1 percent year-over-year in May, faster than the 4.65 percent rise in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 55107.34, down by 567.98 points or 1.02% after trading in a range of 54882.41 and 55387.77. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.77%, while Small cap index down by 0.67%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.19%, Energy up by 1.05%, Utilities up by 0.87%, Power up by 0.77% and PSU up by 0.64%, while Consumer Durables down by 2.71%, Realty down by 1.57%, Capital Goods down by 1.53%, IT down by 1.42% and FMCG down by 1.42% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.35%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.30%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.50%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.37% and Reliance Industries up by 0.20%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 4.48%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.87%, Larsen & Toubro down by 3.00%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.98% and Asian Paints down by 2.61% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with an increasing economic ties, India's bilateral trade with all the six members of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) group countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, increased significantly in 2021-22, as the country’s exports to the GCC surged by 58.26 per cent to about $44 billion in 2021-22 against $27.8 billion in 2020-21.

According to the data of the commerce ministry, the share of these six countries in India's total exports has risen to 10.4 per cent in 2021-22 from 9.51 per cent in 2020-21. Similarly, imports rose by 85.8 per cent to $110.73 billion compared to $59.6 billion in 2020-21.

The data report further showed that the share of GCC members in India's total imports rose to 18 per cent in 2021-22 from 15.5 per cent in 2020-21, while bilateral trade has increased to $154.73 billion in 2021-22 from $87.4 billion in 2020-21.

The CNX Nifty ended at 16416.35, down by 153.20 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 16347.10 and 16487.25. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 5.13%, Coal India up by 1.39%, NTPC up by 1.32%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.28% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 4.45%, UPL down by 4.21%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.76%, Britannia down by 3.11% and Larsen & Toubro down by 3.09% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 4.35 points or 0.06% to 7,603.87, France’s CAC decreased 33.21 points or 0.51% to 6,515.57 and Germany’s DAX was down by 107.91 points or 0.74% to 14,545.90.

Asian markets ended mixed on Tuesday on anxiety about interest rate hikes and a possible economic slowdown in the world’s largest economy. Last week’s US jobs report raised expectations of continued tightening by the US Federal Reserve. Investors are also awaiting Friday’s US consumer price index (CPI) for clues on the interest rate hike path. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank will hand down its policy decision this Thursday, joining global peers to cool off high inflation. Chinese shares gained as easing of more Covid-19 related restrictions in Shanghai and other major cities. Japanese shares rose as a weakening yen boosted export stocks. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said a weak yen is beneficial for Japan’s economy if the currency’s moves are not too sharp.