Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended a choppy trading session in negative territory on Thursday, ahead of the release of the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting minutes, scheduled for Friday. After a slightly negative start, soon indices traded near neutral lines for most of the day, amid escalating trend in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran as they continued to attack each other. In the final hour of trade, markets slipped into red but managed to close with minor losses.

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:

India slips to 71st place on global Energy Transition Index released by WEF: Traders were cautious as India has been ranked 71st on a global Energy Transition Index released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Sweden topped the list of 118 countries, followed by Finland, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland in the top five. 

India-UK free trade pact provides stability, predictability to business: Traders overlooked Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) brings stability and predictability for businesses in both the countries. 

Government will continue to support fintech industry: Traders took note of report that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a review meeting with fintech firms and assured that the government will continue to support the industry.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in red, while Asian markets ended mostly in red on Thursday, as investors weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady, while the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran continues to dent sentiment. 

The BSE Sensex ended at 81361.87, down by 82.79 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 81191.04 and 81583.94. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.64%, while Small cap index down by 1.77%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Auto up by 0.42%, while Realty down by 1.63%, Utilities down by 1.61%, PSU down by 1.43%, Power down by 1.24% and Metal down by 1.18% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.57%, Titan Company up by 0.74%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.45%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.43% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.32%. On the flip side, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 2.50%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.19%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.95%, SBI down by 1.13% and NTPC down by 1.07% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Moody's Analytics in its latest report ‘AI is beating the odds’ has said that the developed and emerging economies in East and Southeast Asia are key targets for AI investments, with India, Singapore and Malaysia rapidly establishing themselves as prime destinations for data centre projects or chip manufacturing.

According to the report, even though trade and geopolitical tensions are knocking economies, soaring AI demand is outpacing supply. To close the gap, global investors are pouring capital into data centres and semiconductor projects.

Moody's Analytics further noted that the US share of outbound AI investment outpaces its inbound share, a sign that US tech giants are expanding their global footprint. Besides, it said that India’s growing economy and digital talent pool make it an attractive location for data centre providers and chip production.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24793.25, down by 18.80 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 24733.40 and 24863.10. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer Products up by 2.17%, Eicher Motors up by 1.86%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.77%, Wipro up by 1.53% and Apollo Hospital up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 2.52%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.01%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.57%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.56% and Coal India down by 1.56% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; France’s CAC fell 46.81 points or 0.61% to 7,609.31, Germany’s DAX lost 79.03 points or 0.34% to 23,238.78 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 18.32 points or 0.21% to 8,825.15.

Asian markets settled mostly lower on Thursday, with the risk aversion amidst the escalating Israel-Iran geopolitical tensions and on concerns over potential US involvement. Hawkish stance from the Federal Reserve also dulled the investor sentiments. Signs of slow growth in manufacturing and exports of China negatively influenced the investor sentiments. Profit booking mainly in technological and financial sector stocks saddled the local indices. Hang Seng plunged the most among Asian indices, marking its lowest settlement in two weeks.