Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended near their intraday low points on Thursday. After a positive start, markets remained higher in early morning deals,  taking support with a report that India has witnessed the sharpest rise among the Asian economies, with a six-position jump from 43rd to 37th rank on the annual World Competitiveness Index compiled by the Institute for Management Development, largely due to gains in economic performance.

Adding more optimism, Madhaiyaan Angamuthu, chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) said India’s agricultural and processed food product exports will continue to surge in the current fiscal after a record shipment valued at $25.6 billion in 2021-22 because of global demand for the agricultural commodities

However, in late morning deals, markets turned negative, as provisional data available on the NSE showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold Rs 3,531.15 crore worth of shares on June 15. Besides, India added 12,213 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, witnessing a 38.4 per cent jump from 8, 822 cases. This is the first time since February 26 that the viral infections have crossed the 10,000 mark in a day.

Indices extended their losses in the second half of the trading session. Cautiousness remained among traders after RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao said that despite the improvement in asset quality, financial institutions, including banks, need to proactively undertake stress testing of loan books to examine their loss absorption limits and take steps to improve them wherever required.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower amid concerns that higher U.S. interest rates could lead to more capital outflows from emerging markets. Asian markets ended mixed, after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised its base rate by 75 basis points after the rate hike decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The HKMA adjusted upward the base rate to 2.00 percent with immediate effect according to a pre-set formula.

The BSE Sensex ended at 51495.79, down by 1045.60 points or 1.99% after trading in a range of 51425.48 and 53142.50. There was 1 stock advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 2.34%, while Small cap index down by 2.87%. (Provisional)

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal down by 5.48%, Basic Materials down by 3.55%, PSU down by 3.06%, Industrials down by 3.06% and Telecom down by 3.04%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. (Provisional)

The only gainer on the Sensex was Nestle up by 0.36%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.32%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.39%, Indusind Bank down by 4.34%, Wipro down by 4.12% and Bharti Airtel down by 3.99% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with an aim to boost future exports of hydrogen from India, Union power minister R K Singh said that the government has held discussions with a number of countries, including Japan and Germany. The minister also added that India is aiming to produce 20 million tonne (MT) of green hydrogen by 2030.

The minister also exuded confidence that India will emerge as a leader in green hydrogen. Meanwhile, India has signed a joint declaration of intent on Indo- German hydrogen task force with Germany. The agreement was signed between power minister Singh and Germany's minister for economic affairs and climate change in May 2022.

Under the said agreement, both the countries will establish an Indo-German green hydrogen task force to strengthen mutual cooperation in production, utilisation, storage and distribution of green hydrogen through building enabling frameworks for projects, regulations and standards, trade and joint research and development projects.

The CNX Nifty ended at 15360.60, down by 331.55 points or 2.11% after trading in a range of 15335.10 and 15863.15. There were 3 stocks advancing against 47 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 0.43%, Britannia up by 0.15% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.01%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 6.03%, Hindalco down by 5.99%, Coal India down by 5.34%, ONGC down by 5.18% and Tata Motors down by 5.11% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 105.35 points or 1.45% to 7,168.06, France’s CAC decreased 98.03 points or 1.63% to 5,932.10 and Germany’s DAX was down by 280.12 points or 2.08% to 13,205.17.

Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday amid concerns that aggressive policy tightening by US Federal Reserve could lead to more capital outflows from emerging markets. The Fed delivered the much anticipated 75 basis point rate hike overnight and has signaled more increases are on the way as it tries to tackle the worst inflation that is running at a 40-year high. While, the Swiss National Bank raised its policy interest rate with a surprise 50 basis point hike for the first time in 15 years. Japanese shares gained ahead of Friday's BoJ meeting, where the central bank is expected to stick to its easy-money policy even in the face of rising inflation. Japan's trade deficit soared to 2.4 trillion yen ($18 billion) in May, the biggest trade deficit the country has seen since January 2014.