Post Session: Quick Review

Following mostly weak cues from other Asian markets, Indian share markets concluded the last trading day of week with cut of over half a percent ahead of US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium later in the day. He is expected to outline whether interest rates should continue to rise to combat high inflation. Besides, Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) MPC minutes dampened investors sentiments. Sector wise, Metal stocks witnessed heavy selling pressure during the day. As for broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index ended with cut of over half a percent, while Small cap index ended with marginal losses.

Markets made gap-down opening and added more losses as traders were worried after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) minutes showed that Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Jayanth R Varma said the inflation readings for the next couple of months are likely to remain well above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance band of 2-6 per cent. Also, the RBI in its minutes said that the headline inflation is likely to witness a spike in the near months on account of supply disruptions due to adverse weather conditions. It said there are risks from the impact of the skewed south-west monsoon so far, a possible El Nino event and upward pressures on global food prices due to geopolitical hostilities. Traders overlooked Finance Secretary T V Somanathan’s statement that India will continue to clock the highest growth rate among the top five economies in the world in the foreseeable future and asked Indian diaspora to act as a catalyst and supplement government efforts in making India the biggest opportunity.  In last leg of trade, indices widened their losses and both -- Sensex and Nifty -- settled below the crucial 64,900 and 19,300 levels respectively. 

On the global front, European markets were trading higher as investors awaited speeches from central bankers, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium for fresh clues on the outlook for interest rates. Asian markets ended mostly in red. Back home, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said the ongoing negotiations between India and the UK on a free trade agreement (FTA) are progressing ‘extremely well’ and it is expected to conclude at an early date. Goyal said both sides are confident that they will come out with a very balanced, equitable and fair agreement in the interest of businesses and people of both the countries.

The BSE Sensex ended at 64,886.51, down by 365.83 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 64,732.57 and 65,106.00. There were 7 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.85%, while Small cap index was down by 0.24%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE was Telecom up by 1.36%, while Capital Goods down by 1.29%, Realty down by 1.27%, Power down by 1.26%, Utilities down by 1.24% and Metal was down by 1.12% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.36%, Asian Paints up by 1.04%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.04%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.41% and Titan Company up by 0.22%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.89%, JSW Steel down by 1.88%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.79%, JIO Financial down by 1.69% and Power Grid down by 1.58% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Finance secretary T V Somanathan has said India will continue to clock the highest growth rate among the top five economies in the world in the foreseeable future and asked Indian diaspora to act as a catalyst and supplement government efforts in making India the biggest opportunity. India is currently the fifth largest economy in the world. The top four are US, China, Japan and Germany. India’s rate of growth by any measurement is much faster than the top four. 

Somanathan said ‘… in terms of the size of opportunity, India is arguably the biggest development opportunity of the future because we are large and we are growing faster than the other large economies’. The Indian economy grew at the rate of 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 and economists peg GDP growth to be in the range of 6-6.5 per cent in the current fiscal (April-March). He said there are three channels through which diaspora can influence - fund flow, trade and knowledge.

He said ‘If we do the right things, and we are doing the right things right now, then you can be a catalyst and a strong accelerator in what India can achieve’, and added that in India’s present stage of development knowledge transfer would be increasingly important. India is the biggest country in terms of population and all challenges are of mega size. India is facing the challenges and we have the ability to tackle them.

The CNX Nifty ended at 19,265.80, down by 120.90 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 19,229.70 and 19,339.55. There were 10 stocks advancing against 41 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.40%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.04%, Asian Paints up by 1.04%, ONGC up by 0.92% and JIO Financial up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.17%, Adani Ports down by 1.92%, JSW Steel down by 1.87%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.85% and Power Grid Corp down by 1.75% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 27.17 points or 0.37% to 7,360.80, France’s CAC rose 35.12 points or 0.48% to 7,249.58 and Germany’s DAX was up by 41.42 points or 0.26% to 15,662.91. 

Asian markets settled mostly lower on Friday in caution ahead of US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole later in the day. Powell is expected to outline whether interest rates should continue to rise to combat high inflation. Seoul shares declined tracking Wall Street shares’ fall overnight. Japanese stocks dropped on concerns about worsening trade ties with China after Japan began releasing contaminated water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean.