HOME > MARKETS > MARKET COMMENTARY
  MARKET COMMENTARY
EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
Aug-04-2021

Indian equity benchmarks ended at record closing highs on Wednesday. After a positive start of the trading session, markets remained higher for the whole trading session, amid report that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the due dates for electronic filing of various forms under the Income-tax Act, 1961 considering the difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in the electronic filing of certain Forms. Traders overlooked report that the reproduction number of coronavirus has increased beyond one in eight states across the country with the health ministry sounding cautious that the second wave of the epidemic was still raging.

In late morning session, some gains got trimmed, after India's services sector remained in contraction territory for the third straight month in July, as business activity, new orders and employment declined further largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and local restrictions. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index rose from 41.2 in June to 45.4 in July, but was stuck in the red due to subdued demand conditions amid the COVID-19 crisis. Besides, the government has said that it expects the total debt as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) to increase to 61.7 per cent (provisional) in 2021-22 (FY22) from 60.5 per cent (provisional) in the previous fiscal. At the same time, public debt would rise to 54.2 per cent in the current financial year from 52 per cent in 2020-21.

But, key indices again added gains in the second half of the trading session, as sentiments were up-beat with ratings agency ICRA’s statement that IT services companies are expected to see growth in revenue, driven by robust demand for digital technologies resulting in higher awards of contracts. Further, the growth in the financial year 2021-22 will be supported by the pent-up demand of the financial year 2020-21 that was lower due to the initial impact of COVID-19. Some support also came with private report that India's recruitment activity has been recovering steadily as the hiring rate in June 2021 was around 42 percent above the pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday, after China's service sector activity logged a steeper growth in July as the successful containment of the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases led to greater customer numbers and boosted new order intakes, survey results from IHS Markit showed on Wednesday. At 54.9 in July, the Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index rebounded from June's 14-month low of 50.3 and signaled a sharp and accelerated expansion of services activity.

The BSE Sensex ended at 54369.77, up by 546.41 points or 1.02% after trading in a range of 54034.31 and 54465.91. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 1.05%, while Small cap index was down by 1.06%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.60%, Energy up by 0.43%, PSU up by 0.05% and Power up by 0.01%, while Telecom down by 2.25%, Realty down by 1.69%, Consumer Durables down by 1.39%, Industrials down by 1.09% and Basic Materials down by 0.96% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 4.77%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.87%, ICICI Bank up by 3.58%, SBI up by 2.37% and HDFC Bank up by 2.12%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 2.14%, Nestle down by 1.39%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.19%, Sun Pharma down by 1.16% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.09% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India’s service sector remained into contraction territory in the month of July, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and local restrictions. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index stood at 45.4 in July from 41.2 in June. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services – stood at  49.2 in July from 43.1 in June.

The report said that new work intakes also fell for the third month running in July, albeit at a softer pace than in June. In addition to challenging conditions domestically, firms observed a further deterioration in international demand for services. New business from abroad decreased at a sharp pace that was little-changed from June.

On the inflation front, input costs increased further in July. The overall rate of inflation quickened from June and outpaced its long-run average. Output charges also rose at quicker pace in July, the fastest in the current five-month sequence of increase, but the rate of inflation was below its long-run trend. Companies that hiked their fees cited the partial pass-through of greater cost burdens to clients.

The CNX Nifty ended at 16258.80, up by 128.05 points or 0.79% after trading in a range of 16176.15 and 16290.20. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 4.75%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.81%, ICICI Bank up by 3.51%, SBI up by 2.34% and HDFC Bank up by 2.13%. On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 2.36%, Titan Co down by 2.21%, Tata Motors down by 1.83%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.47% and Hindalco down by 1.36% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 27.48 points or 0.39% to 7,133.20, France’s CAC increased 41.75 points or 0.62% to 6,765.56 and Germany’s DAX was up by 131.93 points or 0.85% to 15,687.01.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday tracking gains on Wall Street overnight, despite renewed concerns about the rapid spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus globally. Chinese shares rose after the latest survey from Caixin showed the services sector in the country expanded at a faster rate in July. Hong Kong shares jumped even as the private sector in the country expanded at a slower pace in July. However, Japanese shares settled lower after the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed the services sector in the country contracted at a faster rate in July.

Asian Indices

Last Trade           

Change in Points

Change in %    

Shanghai Composite

3,477.22
29.23
0.85

Hang Seng

26,426.55
231.73
0.88

Jakarta Composite

6,159.04
28.47
0.46

KLSE Composite

1,491.33

-8.93

-0.60

Nikkei 225

27,584.08
-57.75
-0.21

Straits Times

3,182.90
33.65
1.07

KOSPI Composite

3,280.38
43.24
1.34

Taiwan Weighted

17,623.89
70.13
0.40
  RELATED NEWS >>
Most Viewed >>
April 22 , 2024
Invest lumpsum through systematic transfer pla
April 22 , 2024
FPIs mount bearish bets as risk aversion grows
April 22 , 2024
FPIs withdraw over Rs 5,200 crore in April so
April 24 , 2024
RBI economists cautious as inflation risks lin
EXPLORE
© CITRUS INTERACTIVE
Designed & Developed Accord Fintech Pvt. Ltd.