Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equities ended at record closing highs as crude prices slid following protests in major Chinese cities against strict zero-COVID policies. Local equity markets made a soft opening with negative bias, as traders were cautious with member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, Sanjiv Sanyal’s statement that ‘India is capable of generating a 9 per cent growth rate but in view of the geopolitical situation, we should be satisfied with a 6.5-7 per cent economic expansion’. Besides, China's surging Covid caseload and widespread protests against the strict restrictions dampened investor sentiment. However, indices soon reversed early weakness to trade in positive range, as traders took solace after RBI said in the second consecutive week of an increase in the kitty, India’s forex reserves have grown by $2.537 billion to $547.252 billion for the week ended November 18. Markets added more points, as some additional support came with Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s statement that the government expects good production of agriculture crops in the ongoing rabi (winter-sown) season on the back of higher sowing area and favourable soil moisture condition.

Trading strength to strength, key indices hit fresh all-time highs, as sentiment got boost after credit rating agency, S&P Global Ratings in its latest report has said that the global slowdown will have less impact on domestic demand-led economies such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines. It further said that in some countries the domestic demand recovery from COVID has further to go. This should support growth next year in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. But, in last leg of trade, markets pared most of their gains, as traders opted to book profit with hitting all-time highs.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower as investors monitored unrest in China as protests against strict Covid measures and lockdowns erupted over the weekend. Asian markets ended lower. Back home, traders took note of report that the central banks of India and the UAE are discussing a concept paper on promoting bilateral trade in rupee and dirham with a view to reducing transaction cost. The central banks of both countries will discuss the standard operating procedures and modalities. The objective of the exercise is to reduce the cost of transactions. In scrip specific development, Reliance Industries exhibited smart performance on Monday’s trade. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 62,504.80, up by 211.16 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 61,959.74 and 62,701.40. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.72%, while Small cap index was up by 0.77%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.49%, Energy up by 1.44%, Auto up by 0.64%, PSU up by 0.59% and Industrials was up by 0.46%, while Metal down by 1.45%, Consumer Durables down by 0.29%, Power down by 0.21%, TECK down by 0.20% and Telecom was down by 0.17% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 3.40%, Nestle up by 1.41%, Asian Paints up by 1.38%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.03% and ICICI Bank up by 0.67%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.18%, HDFC Bank down by 1.06%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.04%, HCL Tech down by 0.79% and HDFC down by 0.78% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, Sanjiv Sanyal has said ‘India is capable of generating a 9 per cent growth rate but in view of the geopolitical situation, we should be satisfied with a 6.5-7 per cent economic expansion’. He added that India is following an ‘investment and export-driven growth model’ and against the backdrop of ‘turbulent’ global times, the RBI and the government have followed a restrained macro-economic approach, which is a correct step.

He noted that ‘It is a very turbulent time and we are generating a 7 per cent growth rate already. Nothing to sniff at. But if we get an open road, this economic machinery that we have built is capable of generating a 9 per cent growth rate’. The global economy is facing supply chain disruptions following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February.

He further said ‘this is not the time to try and overextend ourselves. Any growth rate between 6.5-7 per cent growth rate is not to be sniffed at. Even in the best of times. So let us be satisfied for now. But the time has come when we will be able to press the accelerator and I'm assuring you that the Indian supply side is ready for the big time’. He said India is getting inserted into the global supply chain.

The CNX Nifty ended at 18,562.75, up by 50.00 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 18,365.60 and 18,614.25. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 5.02%, Reliance Industries up by 3.44%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.78%, Tata Consumer up by 1.92% and SBI Life up by 1.48%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.16%, JSW Steel down by 1.45%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.41%, Tata Steel down by 1.22% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.12% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 47.49 points or 0.63% to 7,439.18, France’s CAC decreased 47.84 points or 0.71% to 6,664.64 and Germany’s DAX was down by 109.14 points or 0.75% to 14,432.24.

Asian markets settled lower on Monday, with decline in Chinese shares on concerns over protests in China against Covid-19 curbs and its impact on the world's second-largest economy. Japanese shares dropped by tracking mixed cues from Wall Street last Friday in a subdued holiday-curtailed session. Taiwan shares fell after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as the head of the ruling party after it suffered losses in a local election last week. Kospi shares weighed down, even as South Korea’s central bank and government rolled out additional support measures for the local credit market, including $1.86 billion repo operation by the Bank of Korea to be carried out in December.