Comments
Closing bell:
Snapping its eight-session winning run, equity benchmark Sensex ended 236 points lower on Thursday, tracking losses in financial counters as profit-booking emerged amid lacklustre global cues.
The new set of stimulus measures announced by the government also failed to enthuse investors, traders said.
After dropping 466.12 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index ended 236.48 points or 0.54 per cent lower at 43,357.19.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 58.35 points or 0.46 per cent to 12,690.80.
SBI was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank.
On the other hand, HUL, ITC, L&T, Bajaj Finserv and Tech Mahindra ended with gains.
“Having witnessed continued rebound for last eight trading days, domestic equities finally took a pause today and profit booking was visible in financials stocks,” said Arjun Yash Mahajan, Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities.
Announcement of fiscal stimulus under Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 by the finance minister mainly focused on job creation and pick up in infrastructure developments in the country, he stated.
He added that a large number of mid-cap and small-cap stocks witnessed rebound with emerging clarity over corporate earnings in the backdrop of favourable management commentary and the government’s earnest efforts to spur investment activities in the country.
Announcing a slew of measures to boost the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier in the day said the Indian economy is witnessing a strong recovery after a long and strict lockdown.
She unveiled a new job creation scheme by giving subsidy to those establishments that make new hires. The subsidy would be to cover for retirement fund contributions by employees as well as employers for two years.
Nifty call:
Strategy: The contract is range-bound, tread with caution.
Supports: 12,670 and 12,640
Resistances: 12,720 and 12,740
Rupee call:
The rupee depreciated 9 paise to 74.45 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking muted domestic equities.
Following quarter per cent loss on Wednesday, INR has opened marginally lower today versus USD. The domestic unit is hovering at the important level of 74. Since the trend has been negative since the beginning of the current week and the dollar shows signs of recovery, traders can be bearish on the rupee and initiate intraday short positions with a stop-loss at 74.2.
Supports: 74.50 and 74.70
Resistances: 74.25 and 74.00
Morning update:
Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 200 points in early trade on Thursday, tracking losses in financial stocks ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s press conference.
The 30-share BSE index was trading 226.79 points or 0.52 per cent lower at 43,366.88.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 60 points or 0.47 per cent to 12,689.15.
IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by HDFC twins, Kotak Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank.
On the other hand, M&M, Sun Pharma, Infosys, HUL and Nestle India were trading with gains.
In the previous session, Sensex settled 316.02 points or 0.73 per cent higher at 43,593.67, while Nifty vaulted 118.05 points or 0.93 per cent to close at a record 12,749.15.
The government on Wednesday approved a Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for ten key sectors, including telecom, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, taking the total outlay for such incentives to nearly Rs 2 lakh crore over a five-year period.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 6,207.19 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.
Domestic trade set up does not look inspiring as of now as the market is expected to take a pause here, said Arjun Yash Mahajan Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities.
“However, the possibility of announcement of additional fiscal stimulus by the government shortly may keep sentiment alive,” he added.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to address the media later in the day.
On the global front, US equities ended mostly higher mainly supported by technology stocks as continued surge in new coronavirus cases and resultant restrictions in select cities in the US made investors flock to stocks which emerged as winners during lockdown, Mahajan said.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Tokyo were trading higher in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong and Seoul were in the red.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.18 per cent higher at USD 43.88 per barrel. (PTI)
Opening bell:
The benchmark indices opened the session in red today. The 30-pack BSE Sensex slipped 100.72 points to 43,492.95 and broader index NSE Nifty fell 25.20 points to 12,723.95.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.