Post Session: Quick Review

Indian benchmark indices ended higher on Thursday with Nifty and Sensex settling above the psychological 58200 and 17300 levels respectively. It was a positive start for key indices, as traders found support with IMF’s statement that recent tightening actions by many central banks around the world will help to prevent high inflation from becoming entrenched. Some comfort also came, as foreign Institutional Investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,344.63 crore on Tuesday, exchange data showed.

In afternoon session, markets continued its firm trade amid a private report stating that the Department of Commerce is considering the formation of dedicated units called 'subject matter divisions' to build expertise in industries like services, agriculture, medicines, trade remedies, and digital trade as part of a more aggressive approach to free trade agreements. India wants to be able to negotiate agreements with other nations at the World Trade Organization from a position of strength. Traders took a note of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest report stating that India Inc's foreign commercial borrowings in August this year rose by nearly 4.6 per cent to USD 2.98 billion. In August 2021, the Indian businesses borrowed USD 2.85 billion in the form of external commercial borrowings.

Indices ended the day in green, however, in late afternoon deals, trimmed most of their gains, as India’s services sector growth declined in the month of September, as both new business inflows and output rose at the slowest rates since March, amid inflationary pressures and competitive conditions, which in turn dampened job creation. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell from 57.2 in August to 54.3 in September.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green despite renewed concerns about inflation and a possible recession. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, as investors were awaiting US nonfarm payrolls report and inflation data that could provide additional clues on the pace of future interest rate hikes in the United States. Back home, in scrip specific, Zee Entertainment Enterprises gained 4.40% to Rs 280.00 in Thursday’s intra-day trade, after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) granted conditional approval to the proposed merger of the company with Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India.

The BSE Sensex ended at 58,222.10, up by 156.63 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 58,173.70 and 58,578.76. There were 17 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.13%, while Small cap index was up by 1.30%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.89%, Capital Goods up by 2.34%, Realty up by 2.15%, Industrials up by 1.96% and Power was up by 1.61%, while FMCG down by 0.18% and Telecom was down by 0.16% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.22%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.10%, HCL Tech up by 2.01%, ICICI Bank up by 1.98% and Infosys up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.62%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.11%, HDFC down by 1.48%, Indusind Bank down by 1.33% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.15% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India’s services sector growth declined in the month of September, as both new business inflows and output rose at the slowest rates since March, amid inflationary pressures and competitive conditions, which in turn dampened job creation. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell from 57.2 in August to 54.3 in September. Further, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- slipped from 58.2 in August to 55.1 in September, pointing to the weakest rate of expansion since March but one that was above its long-run average.

As per the report, weak external demand weighed on overall sales, with international orders declining further in September. Monthly contractions have been recorded in each month since the onset of COVID-19. It also noted that capacity pressures moderated in September, with services companies signalling the slowest increase in backlogs since February. Nevertheless, efforts to clear pending workloads and ongoing expansions in sales supported another round of job creation. However, employment rose at a slower rate than in August.

On the inflation front, service providers signalled a further increase in their operating expenses during September, owing to higher energy, food, labour and material costs. The overall rate of inflation was little-changed from August. Although selling prices once again rose at an above-trend pace, the overall rate of inflation slipped to a six-month low. Meanwhile, marketing efforts and forecasts of sales growth boosted business confidence in September. Services firms were at their most upbeat towards the outlook in over seven-and-a-half years.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17,331.80, up by 57.50 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 17,315.65 and 17,428.80. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 4.86%, Hindalco up by 4.72%, Coal India up by 4.59%, Tata Steel up by 2.37% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.21%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.49%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.02%, Indusind Bank down by 1.51%, HDFC down by 1.42% and Britannia down by 1.33% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 2.34 points or 0.04% to 5,987.80 and Germany’s DAX was up by 20.99 points or 0.17% to 12,538.17. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 6.08 points or 0.09% to 7,046.54.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, despite Wall Street losses overnight. Meanwhile investors were awaiting US nonfarm payrolls report and inflation data that could provide additional clues on the pace of future interest rate hikes in the United States. Japanese shares advanced, led by gains in the energy stocks after OPEC+ agreed to cut 2 million barrels per day to shore up prices. Chinese markets remained shut for the Golden Week holiday.