Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in green terrain on Thursday’s trading session. After a strong start of the day, key indices remained higher for the most part of the trading session, taking support with Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Gita Gopinath’s statement that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s quantitative easing measures are a welcome move. Gopinath also said that this fiscal stance is also appropriate for India overall and that it is good that support isn’t being pulled back. She added there is evidence of normalisation of economic activities in India.

Some support came with a report stating that growth is of paramount importance now, the Reserve Bank of India said it will do whatever it takes to sustain the fledgling recovery by ensuring ample and assured liquidity and cheaper funds to oil the wheels of the economy. Traders remained optimistic with the corporate affairs ministry stating that the latest amendments to the insolvency law by way of an ordinance are aimed at providing an efficient alternative resolution framework for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Pre-packaged insolvency resolution process has been introduced for stressed MSMEs.

In the last hour of the trade, markets cut gains, as India's debt to GDP ratio increased from 74 per cent to 90 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund has said, noting that it expects this to drop down to 80 per cent as a result of the country's economic recovery. But finally, indices managed to end in green, after markets regulator SEBI rationalised the reporting requirements for alternative investment funds in order to provide ease of compliance for such entities. Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) will have to submit report on their activities on a quarterly basis. The report has to be submitted within 10 days from the end of a quarter and the new requirement will be effective from the quarter ending December 31, 2021, as per a circular.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher, as equities across the globe continue to benefit from the reopening of economies, fiscal stimulus and loose monetary policy. Asian markets finished mostly in green on Thursday, after the private sector in Hong Kong continued to expand marginally in March, and at a slightly faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Thursday with a seasonally adjusted PMI score of 50.5. That's up from 50.2 in February and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Individually, March saw the sharpest increase in staffing levels since June 2011 as business activity stabilized.

The BSE Sensex ended at 49746.21, up by 84.45 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 49581.61 and 50118.08. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.60%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 4.44%, Basic Materials up by 3.00%, Consumer Durables up by 2.58%, Industrials up by 1.01% and IT up by 0.96%, while Power down by 1.04%, Utilities down by 0.64%, Bankex down by 0.61%, Energy down by 0.24% and PSU down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 4.24%, Titan Co up by 3.95%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.52%, Nestle up by 1.66% and TCS up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.07%, ONGC down by 1.05%, Sun Pharma down by 1.05%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.01% and HDFC Bank down by 0.95% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, taking another important step towards the vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', the Union Cabinet has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED Lights) with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 6,238 crore.

The prime objective of the PLI scheme is to make manufacturing in India globally competitive by removing sectoral disabilities, creating economies of scale and ensuring efficiencies. It is designed to create complete component ecosystem in India and make India an integral part of the global supply chains. The scheme is expected to attract global investments, generate large scale employment opportunities and enhance exports substantially.

The PLI Scheme for White Goods shall extend an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India for a period of five years to companies engaged in manufacturing of Air Conditioners and LED Lights.

The CNX Nifty ended at 14873.80, up by 54.75 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 14821.10 and 14984.15. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 9.21%, Tata Steel up by 4.98%, Shree Cement up by 4.47%, Titan Co up by 3.78% and Hindalco up by 3.69%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.13%, Sun Pharma down by 1.09%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.09%, HDFC Bank down by 1.00% and ONGC down by 1.00% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 25.67 points or 0.37% to 6,910.99, France’s CAC increased 27.14 points or 0.44% to 6,157.80 and Germany’s DAX was up by 48.77 points or 0.32% to 15,225.13.

Asian markets finished mostly in green on Thursday, as the ultra-dovish stance of US Federal Reserve after its  latest monetary policy meeting despite massive stimulus packages and a rising US Treasury yields reaffirmed chance of a swift economic recovery. Shanghai shares finished higher with the major gains from the healthcare sector amid ramp-up of vaccination efforts in the country due to spread of new variant covid-19. China reported 24 new Covid-19 cases on April 7, with 11 of the new cases were local infections reported in the southwestern Yunnan province. The country had administered a total of 149.07 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, as of Wednesday. Even though, Japanese shares retreated amid concerns over spike in new covid cases and on uncertainty over global economic rebound.