Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in red terrain on Wednesday. After a cautious start of the day, markets entered into a green terrain, as some support came with report that foreign institutional investors have been bullish on Indian shares for much of 2021 so far, net offloading only in April, May and July. As of Monday, FIIs have invested a net Rs 64,202 crore in Indian equities so far this year. That is more than double the net purchases of Rs 28,347 crore in the first nine months of 2020.

However, volatility witnessed over the Dalal Street during the trading session. Traders were concerned as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its projection of India's economic growth by 0.2 percentage points to 9.7 per cent for the current financial year. Some pessimism came in as India recorded a spike of 27,333 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The country also witnessed 385 deaths, taking the death toll to 445,801.

Finally, key indices ended the trading day on a lower note. Domestic sentiments got hurt, after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised down India's Gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 10 percent for the current fiscal (FY22) from 11 percent predicted earlier, citing the adverse impact of the second wave of the pandemic. The growth forecast for India in fiscal year 2021 (ending in March 2022) was revised down, as the spike in COVID-19 cases during May dented the recovery.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher helped by M&A action in the leisure sector and an easing of tensions around embattled Chinese property group Evergrande, ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday, after China maintained its benchmark loan prime rates for the 17 consecutive month, as widely expected. The one-year loan prime rate was kept unchanged at 3.85 percent and the five-year LPR at 4.65 percent. The one-year and five-year loan prime rates were last lowered in April 2020. The one-year loan prime rate was cut by 20 basis points and five-year rate by 10 basis points in April 2020.

The BSE Sensex ended at 58927.33, down by 77.94 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 58878.38 and 59178.44. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.51%, while Small cap index up by 1.19%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 8.39%, Consumer Disc up by 1.90%, Metal up by 1.57%, Auto up by 1.43% and Basic Materials up by 1.02%, while Bankex down by 0.75%, Utilities down by 0.45%, FMCG down by 0.24% and Power down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 3.70%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.92%, HCL Tech. up by 1.31%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.12% and Reliance Industries up by 1.08%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.46%, Nestle down by 1.22%, ICICI Bank down by 1.12%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.03% and HDFC Bank down by 0.99% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in a major step, the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, has issued a series of orders simplifying the KYC processes and thereby initiating the telecom reforms announced by the Cabinet. Aadhaar based e-KYC process has been re-introduced for issuing of new mobile connections.

Presently, a subscriber has to undergo KYC process which entails visit to the Point of Sale along with the original documents of identity and address as proof for obtaining new mobile connection or conversion of mobile connection from Prepaid to Postpaid or vice-versa.

Online service delivery has become an acceptable norm in the recent past and most of the customer services are being offered through internet with OTP authentication. Contactless services in the COVID era needs to be promoted for subscriber convenience and also for ease of doing business. Customer consent has been made compulsory in case the Aadhaar is being used and demographic details are being obtained electronically from UIDAI.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17546.65, down by 15.35 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 17524.00 and 17610.45. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.64%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.55%, Tata Motors up by 2.70%, Hindalco up by 2.66% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.90%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.43%, Nestle down by 1.31%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.26%, ICICI Bank down by 1.19% and HDFC Bank down by 1.18% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 63.74 points or 0.91% to 7,044.72, France’s CAC increased 61.45 points or 0.94% to 6,614.18 and Germany’s DAX was up by 72.67 points or 0.47% to 15,421.20.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday ahead of US Fed meeting outcome for a clear signal on when tapering may begin. Japanese shares declined due to concerns over domestic economic situation. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its ultra-supportive monetary policy steady but offered a bleaker view on exports and factory output as Asian factory shutdowns caused supply-chain disruptions for some manufacturers. However, Chinese shares ended higher after markets resumed trading after local holidays and developer China Evergrande’s assurance to settle interest payments on a domestic bond also lifts real estate shares. Liquidity infusion by PBoC into the country's financial system too helped Chinese market sentiment. Meanwhile, markets in Hong Kong and South Korea were closed due to local holidays.