MARKET: Indices snap 5-day rally amid weak global cues, Sensex dips 59 pts

All that happened in the markets today

Snapping their five-day gaining streak, the benchmark indices ended Wednesday's choppy session in the red amid selling in IT, private banks, and consumer goods shares. Weak global markets owing to US-China tensions and a surge in coronavirus cases dented the investor sentiment. 

The S&P BSE Sensex today ended 59 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 37,872, with Axis Bank (up 7 per cent) being the top gainer and HUL (down 3 per cent) the biggest loser. 

NSE's Nifty ended at 11,133, down 30 points or 0.27 per cent. India VIX, the volatility index gained over 1 per cent to 24.75 levels. 

Among individual stocks, Reliance Industries (RIL) hit a fresh record high of Rs 2,010 on the BSE during the day. The stock ended at Rs 2,004, up over 1.6 per cent. 

Bajaj Auto ended 0.6 per cent lower at Rs 2,986 on the BSE after the company reported a standalone net profit of Rs 528 crore for the April-June quarter of FY21 (Q1FY21), down 53 per cent, from a profit of Rs 1,125.67 crore in the year-ago period. READ MORE

Shares of Axis Bank ended over 7 per cent higher at Rs 479 on the BSE after the private sector lender reported a healthy set of April-June (Q1FY21) quarter numbers with a strong operational performance. CLICK TO READ FULL REPORT

The sectoral trend on the NSE was largely negative. The Nifty PSU Bank index declined over 1.5 per cent to 1,449.20 levels while the Nifty Auto slipped over 1.2 per cent to 7,203.95 points. The Nifty IT index fell over 1 per cent to 17,076 points. On the other hand, Nifty Bank gained nearly 0.5 per cent to 22,882.60 levels and the Nifty Pharma rose 0.21 per cent to 10,175 points. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.19 per cent to 13,649 while S&P BSE SmallCap index slipped 0.23 per cent to 12,917. 

Global markets

European shares fell on Wednesday as escalating US-China tensions and a surge in coronavirus cases dented sentiment after an EU-wide debt deal sent the region’s markets to four-month highs in the previous session.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down nearly 1 per cent, easing from its strongest close since March 5. 

US President Donald Trump warned overnight the pandemic would get worse before it got better, while a Reuters tally showed global Covid-19 infections surged past 15 million on Wednesday.

In Asia, China stocks ended higher for the fourth straight session, buoyed by Beijing’s capital market reforms, though gains were checked by ongoing Sino-US tensions. Hong Kong stocks, on the other hand, fell the most in nearly six weeks. 

In commodities, oil prices fell as industry data showed a bigger-than-expected inventory build in the United States, where a surge in coronavirus cases could further dent fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:08 PM

TECHNICAL VIEW:: Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

"Nifty closed a day on a negative note after four consecutive sessions at 11,132 with loss of 30 points and formed a "Hanging Man" kind of candle pattern on the daily chart which is bearish reversal pattern by nature so any break below 11,050 can lead in more profit booking. Support for Nifty is coming near 11,050-11,000 mark. Any break below the said levels can drag down the index more and resistance is still placed at 11,200-12,240 zone. Nifty Bank closed the day at 22,883 with gains of 100 points; support for the Nifty bank comes in near 22,740-22,550 zone and resistance is seen near 23,000-23,200 levels."

4:04 PM

MARKET COMMENT:: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

"Indian indices exhibited volatility and closed in the negative, in sync with negative global cues. The spike in US-Chine tensions hit the global markets while a surge in virus infections globally also impacted sentiment. Domestically, the private banking space gained on the back of earnings numbers from Axis Bank. However, Auto, IT and PSU Banks led the losses. Volatility is expected to continue due to expiry day tomorrow".

3:36 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE at Close

3:36 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close

3:34 PM

Closing Bell | Markets end volatile day in the red

>> S&P BSE Sensex ended at 37,871.52 level, down 58.81 points or 0.16%

>> Nifty50 settles at 11,132.60 level, down 30 points or 0.27%. 

3:28 PM

MARKET CHECK

3:24 PM

Markets ride easy money wave, experts caution against asset price bubbles

The V-shaped rebound has been underpinned by gush of liquidity flooding the global financial system thanks to the balance sheet expansion, particularly by the central banks of G4. Concerns have surfaced on whether the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will stall its balance sheet expansion after rapid expansion this year, which has helped shore up markets. However, the easy money trade seems here to stay. The European Union announced a $850-billion recovery fund on Tuesday. Other G4 peers including Fed, Bank of Japan (BoJ) and Bank of England (BoE) too are expected to follow suit given the fragile economic environment. READ MORE

3:23 PM

Make gradual entry in mkts, understand risks: Sebi chief to small investors

Speaking at the industry body FICCI’s annual capital market conference Capam, Ajay Tyagi, chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said, “Increased retail participation isn't a cause of concern.” He was alluding to the sharp increase in new account openings and increase in share of retail investors in overall market volumes. READ MORE 

3:18 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: Top 5 losers on the BSE at this hour

3:13 PM

BROKERAGE VIEW:: Anand Rathi Shares on Infrastructure sector

Though the Covid-compelled disruption makes the already ambitious FY20-FY25 targeted plan more challenging, any success with efforts to iron out issues (which have plagued infrastructure development in India) as a part of this exercise would definitely have lasting effects for years to come, and could change the way infrastructure development is approached in India. The well-intentioned pipeline gets many matters right, but success would rest on the government’s ability to implement the plan well.  

3:13 PM

Corporate Announcement :: Tata Motors changes AGM date from August 11, 2020 to Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at 2 pm

Click here for the BSE filing

3:09 PM

Markets nudge higher but fund managers have task cut out in assessing firms

Analysts and fund managers seem to have discounted Financial Year (FY) 2020-21 and they are betting on stocks based on projected FY22 and FY23 numbers. Consensus estimates peg Nifty EPS growth of 10 per cent and 39 per cent for FY2021 and FY2022, respectively, according to Credit Suisse Wealth Management, India. A nationwide surge in Covid-19 cases, states going under lockdown and limited fiscal support, however, could pose significant downside risks to these estimates. READ MORE

3:02 PM

INDEX LOSER:: Tata Steel slips nearly 3%

2:56 PM

EXPERT COMMENT:: Kishore Narne of MOFSL shares his views on gold

“We have been bullish on gold for the last couple of years and the view has played out very well, and two quarters back in Dec’19, we have revised our targets from Rs 42,000/10gms to Rs 65,000/10Gms in 18-24 months. We continue to maintain this target as the fundamental backdrop which has driven gold over the span of the last four months which is the lower interest rates, negative rates in few economies, enormous amount of liquidity, and expanded fiscal balance sheets of governments which are trying to push growth amidst Covid-19. We do expect the anaemic economic growth would cause further isolation of economies and intensify protectionist policies and further aggravate trade-war which also helped gold in the past. We expect gold to keep up the momentum with occasional corrections, and we suggest investors to use every dip to keep buying gold over medium to long term targets of Rs 65,000," says Kishore Narne, Associate Director & Head, Commodities & Currencies, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. 

2:51 PM

Banks need to be recapitalised as moratorium ends on Aug 31: SBI report

It said while raising capital is important for banks, capital conservation will also be crucial as the moratorium ends on August 31 and banks will start recognising stress.

 

The problem is given the one-year freeze in IBC, resolution cannot happen at the same time and it is thus imperative that public-sector banks (PSBs) are either recapitalised or given the alternative of capital conservation, as it is not certain how much fiscal space the government might have for recapitalisation, the SBI report- Ecowrap said. READ MORE