HOME > MARKETS > MARKET COMMENTARY
  MARKET COMMENTARY
EQUITY
Benchmarks end lower on Friday
Apr-12-2024

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower by over a percent on Friday as investors preferred to book profit amid uncertainty over the US Fed rate cut timing and start of the Q4 earnings season. Benchmarks made a negative start and stayed in red for whole day as traders remained cautious with a private report that India's consumer price inflation likely eased to a five-month low of 4.91% in March but was still above the Reserve Bank of India's 4% medium-term target as food price rises persist. Traders overlooked Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Report stating that the government's continued emphasis on infrastructure creation, coupled with an uptick in private corporate investment and buoyant business optimism, could nurture a sustained revival in the investment cycle, which augurs well for boosting productivity and growth in the economy. Traders also paid no heed towards report that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) raised India's GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7 per cent from 6.7 per cent earlier, saying the robust growth will be driven by public and private sector investment demand and gradual improvement in consumer demand.

Markets extended losses in second half of trading session, as some concern came amid a private report stating that the growing Indian economy is creating jobs, but mainly for the unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Graduates and those having higher qualifications, even with technical degrees and diplomas, are witnessing employment generation at a slow pace. Also, traders remained on sidelines ahead of the India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data to be out later in the day. Traders took a note of report that global rating agency Moody's has affirmed India's outlook at Baa3 and P-3, signaling stability. However, it has issued a warning that escalating political tensions or further weakening of checks and balances could harm the country's long-term growth trajectory. 

On the global front, European markets were trading higher after a European Central Bank (ECB) poll of professional forecasters showed that inflation in the euro zone will fall to 2 percent in 2025 and stay there in the longer term, giving the clearest indication that the ECB could cut interest rates in June. Asian markets ended mostly in red on Friday as traders priced in less monetary-policy easing by the Federal Reserve this year and waited for the U.S. earnings season to kick off with large-cap banking name. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 793.25 points or 1.06% to 74,244.90 and the CNX Nifty was down by 234.40 points or 1.03% points to 22,519.40.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 74,951.88 and 74,189.31 respectively. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index. 

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.49%, while Small cap index was down by 0.60%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables down by 1.39%, Oil & Gas down by 1.28%, Healthcare down by 1.23%, FMCG down by 1.10% and Utilities down by 1.02%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 0.67%, TCS up by 0.45% and Nestle up by 0.37%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 4.01%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.17%, Power Grid Corporation down by 2.57%, Titan Company down by 2.40% and JSW Steel down by 2.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Moody’s Analytics in its report titled ‘APAC Outlook: Listening Through the Noise’ has projected India’s economy to expand 6.1 per cent in 2024, lower than 7.7 per cent growth clocked in 2023. It said output in India remains 4 per cent lower than it would have been without the COVID pandemic and its various aftershocks - from supply snags to military conflicts abroad. It said ‘Economies in South and Southeast Asia will see some of the strongest output gains this year, but their performance is flattered by a delayed post-pandemic rebound’.

As per the report, the region overall is doing better than other parts of the world. The APAC (Asia Pacific) economy will grow 3.8 per cent this year, which compares with a growth of 2.5 per cent for the world economy. It said looking at GDP relative to its trajectory prior to the pandemic shows that India and Southeast Asia have seen some of the largest output losses worldwide and are only beginning to recover.

With regard to inflation, it said the outlook for China and India is more uncertain. It said ‘Inflation in India is at the opposite extreme, with recent consumer price inflation rates hovering around 5 per cent, close to the upper end of the Reserve Bank of India’s target range of 2 to 6 per cent and without clear evidence of a trend towards slowing price pressures’.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 22,726.45 and 22,503.75. There were 5 stocks advancing against 45 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 0.85%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.76%, Tata Motors up by 0.64%, TCS up by 0.48% and Nestle up by 0.21%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.68%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.26%, Power Grid Corporation down by 2.51%, Titan Company down by 2.38% and ONGC down by 2.35% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 81.8 points or 1.03% to 8,005.60, France’s CAC rose 52.22 points or 0.65% to 8,075.96 and Germany’s DAX gained 121.83 points or 0.68% to 18,076.31.

Asian markets ended mostly in red on Friday as traders priced in less monetary-policy easing by the Federal Reserve this year and waited for the U.S. earnings season to kick off with large-cap banking names. China's market fell as the U.S. crackdown on China's tech sector intensified. The United States has added six Chinese companies to an export blacklist accusing them of seeking to acquire AI chips for China's military or helping to procure drones for use by Russia. Investors also looked ahead to a rate decision by the People's Bank of China on Monday, with the central bank expected leave the key policy rate unchanged.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,019.47

-14.78  

-0.49    

Hang Seng

16,721.69

-373.34

-2.23    

Jakarta Composite

--

--

--

KLSE Composite

1,551.04

- 2.47

- 0.16

Nikkei 225

39,523.55

80.92

0.20

Straits Times

3,216.91

-10.70  

-0.33    

KOSPI Composite

2,681.82           

-25.14  

-0.94    

Taiwan Weighted

20,736.57         

-16.65  

-0.08    
  RELATED NEWS >>
Most Viewed >>
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 25 , 2024
Fall in call market volume raises concerns ove
April 25 , 2024
Small, mid cap funds saw massive surge in foli
EXPLORE
© CITRUS INTERACTIVE
Designed & Developed Accord Fintech Pvt. Ltd.