Post Session: Quick Review

The Indian equity benchmarks extended northward journey on Wednesday despite geopolitical tensions. Indices made negative start, as traders were concerned after political instability gripped the region after a missile hit Polish territory, raising tensions between Russia and NATO. Some cautiousness also came after global ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has given a 'negative outlook' to credit worthiness of countries globally including India, for 2023, saying high prices of food and energy would curb economic growth and raise social tensions. It said tighter financial conditions and economic scarring will push some debt burdens to unsustainable levels, while rising borrowing costs will erode debt affordability.

However, markets erased all their losses to trade above a water, as traders took some solace with Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Nitin Gupta’s statement that the direct tax collection in the current fiscal is likely to exceed the budget target of Rs 14.20 lakh crore by about 30 per cent. He also said that the Budget for next fiscal could bring about some tweaks in the TDS provision for online gaming to check tax evasion. Key gauges sustained their gains in afternoon session, as some additional support came with a private report stating that India’s IT and business services market grew 7.4 per cent in the first half of 2022, compared to 6.4 per cent in the same period a year ago and helped by enterprises investing in digital transformation. But, in late afternoon session, markets trimmed most of their gains on the back of weak cues from European markets. However, markets managed to end in positive zone.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red as investors took stock of rising geopolitical risks and awaited the much-awaited U.K. budget announcement on Thursday. Asian markets ended mostly in red as investors waited for more clarity over reports Russian missiles aimed at Ukraine have hit NATO territory in Poland. If the missile that hit Poland was fired by Russia, it would mark the first time in the war that Russian weapons have come down on a member of NATO. Back home, in scrip specific developments, Global Health has debuted at Rs 398.15 on the BSE and Bikaji Foods International listed with 7.05% premium on the BSE. Sector wise, steel sector remained in limelight after credit rating agency ICRA’s Senior Vice-President & Group Head, Corporate Sector, Jayanta Roy has said that after a challenging September quarter, the profitability of domestic steel makers is expected to improve in the October-December quarter (Q3FY23) given lower coking coal costs, and an expected pick-up in capacity utilisation rates on the back of better domestic demand conditions.

The BSE Sensex ended at 61,980.72, up by 107.73 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 61,708.63 and 62,052.57. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.66%, while Small cap index was down by 0.34%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.47%, Industrials up by 0.37%, Capital Goods up by 0.36%, TECK up by 0.30% and IT was up by 0.20%, while Metal down by 1.49%, Utilities down by 1.40%, Power down by 1.27%, Realty down by 1.03% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.76% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.61%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.98%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.94%, TCS up by 0.81% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.03%, Tata Steel down by 1.94%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.19%, NTPC down by 1.19% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.73% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, global ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has given a 'negative outlook' to credit worthiness of countries globally including India, for 2023, saying high prices of food and energy would curb economic growth and raise social tensions. It said tighter financial conditions and economic scarring will push some debt burdens to unsustainable levels, while rising borrowing costs will erode debt affordability.

Ratings agency forecast that as many as 13 nations, including India, would spend over 20 per cent of their government revenue in servicing debt next year. The policy dilemma between servicing creditors and meeting populations' demands for social and economic developments will intensify as governments dedicate a growing share of their revenue to interest payments. It said ‘our outlook for sovereign creditworthiness in 2023 is negative. Although inflation will start declining, prices of food and energy will remain high, curbing economic growth and raising social tensions.’

It further stated that global GDP growth will slow to 1.7 per cent in 2023, from 3 per cent in 2022 as higher prices and tighter monetary policy hurt consumer spending, investment and economic sentiment. Asia would outperform other regions. Large Asian countries like India will grow in excess of 4.5 per cent as domestic consumption, investment and tourism return to normal. India's GDP growth projection for 2022 was cut to 7 per cent from 7.7 per cent, citing global slowdown, high inflation and rising domestic interest rates. For G-20 economies, the growth is projected to decelerate to 1.3 per cent in 2023, significantly lower than its previous estimate of 2.1 per cent.

The CNX Nifty ended at 18,409.65, up by 6.25 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 18,344.15 and 18,442.15. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.80%, Coal India up by 1.18%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.07%, HDFC Bank up by 0.86% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 2.88%, Adani Enterprises down by 2.49%, Adani Ports down by 2.16%, Hindalco down by 2.08% and JSW Steel down by 1.95% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in red, France’s CAC decreased 7.65 points or 0.12% to 6,634.01and Germany’s DAX was down by 94.51 points or 0.66% to 14,284.00. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 20.67 points or 0.28% to 7,390.11.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday amid increased geopolitical tensions following news of a Russian-made missile strike in Poland, even as US President Joe Biden said he doesn't believe a missile strike that killed two people in Poland was fired from Russia. Chinese shares dropped on growth concerns after data showed house prices in China marked their worst fall in seven years in October. Moreover, Hong Kong shares declined on profit-booking after recent strong gains on optimism over the scaling back of covid restrictions and new initiatives to support the property sector. Although, Japanese shares gained slightly tracking Wall Street gains overnight as Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard's comments and weak producer price inflation data added to expectations of smaller Fed rate hikes.