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Post Session: Quick Review
May-18-2022

Indian equity benchmarks ended volatile session on a lower note on Wednesday. Key indices made a positive start of the trading day, as rating agency Icra has forecasted the economy to grow 12-13 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal, citing the second highest business activity index reading in 13 months in April. Traders took a note of report stating that as taxpayers face technical glitches on the GST portal, the government has extended the due date for April tax payment till May 24 and has directed Infosys for early resolution of the problem.

Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street during the first half of the trading session. Traders were positive as the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has initiated several systemic and procedural changes for improving the ease of doing business and reducing the compliance burden on stakeholders. Sentiments remained upbeat, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its article has said that improving infrastructure, ensuring low and stable inflation, and maintaining macroeconomic stability is critical for reviving animal spirits and spurring growth. It noted that the Indian economy consolidated its recovery, with most constituents surpassing pre-pandemic levels of activity.

However, in the second half of the trading session, markets cut gains and turned volatile, after S&P Global Ratings cut India's growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.3 percent from 7.8 percent earlier on rising inflation and the longer-than-expected Russia-Ukraine conflict. In its Global Macro Update to Growth Forecasts, S&P said inflation remaining higher for a long is a worry, which requires central banks to raise rates more than what is currently priced in, risking a harder landing, including a larger hit to output and employment.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower struggling to maintain the week’s positive momentum as surging U.K. inflation raised concerns about interest rate rises and slowing growth. Asian markets settled mostly higher, even after Japan's gross domestic product contracted an annualized 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2022, the Cabinet Office said in Wednesday's preliminary reading. That exceeded expectations for a decline of 1.8 percent following the downwardly revised 3.8 percent increase in the previous three months (originally 5.4 percent).

The BSE Sensex ended at 54208.53, down by 109.94 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 54130.89 and 54786.00. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.13%, while Small cap index was up by 0.33%. (Provisional)

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.21%, Healthcare up by 0.47% and Basic Materials up by 0.27%, while Realty down by 1.82%, PSU down by 1.63%, Telecom down by 0.97%, Oil & Gas down by 0.68% and Consumer Durables down by 0.64% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.02%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.98%, Asian Paints up by 1.65%, Sun Pharma up by 0.78% and ITC up by 0.72%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 4.55%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.14%, SBI down by 2.01%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.92% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.66% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, amid rising inflation and the longer-than-expected Russia-Ukraine conflict, credit rating agency, S&P Global Ratings in its ‘Global Macro Update to Growth Forecasts’ report has cut India's growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.3 percent from 7.8 percent earlier pegged in December last year.

According to the report released by the rating agency, inflation remaining higher for a long is a worry, which requires central banks to raise rates more than what is currently priced in, risking a harder landing, including a larger hit to output and employment.

Credit rating agency further noted that the growth has been pegged at 6.5 percent for the next fiscal. It said Indian economy is estimated to have clocked a GDP growth of 8.9 percent in the last fiscal (2021-22). S&P also pegged CPI or retail inflation in the current fiscal at 6.9 percent.

The CNX Nifty ended at 16240.30, down by 19.00 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 16211.20 and 16399.80. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer Products up by 2.73%, Shree Cement up by 2.11%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.07%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.06% and Cipla up by 2.04%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 4.50%, BPCL down by 3.08%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.18%, Tata Motors down by 2.12% and Apollo Hospital Ent. down by 2.05% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 9.36 points or 0.12% to 7,508.99, France’s CAC decreased 22.86 points or 0.36% to 6,407.33 and Germany’s DAX was down by 26.23 points or 0.18% to 14,159.71.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday tracking overnight gains in Wall Street followed by the strong retail sales numbers. Data showed that retail sales in the US increased 0.9 percent month-on-month in April of 2022 following an upwardly revised 1.4 percent surge in March and matching market forecasts. Japanese shares gained even as the economy contracted 1 percent year-on-year and 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2022. Although, Chinese shares declined by fears that policies announced by Beijing would not be enough to revive the coronavirus-battered economy.

Asian Indices

Last Trade           

Change in Points

Change in %

Shanghai Composite

3,085.98-7.72-0.25

Hang Seng

20,644.2841.760.20

Jakarta Composite

6,793.41148.942.24

KLSE Composite

1,554.916.310.41

Nikkei 225

26,911.20251.450.94

Straits Times

3,225.3523.460.73

KOSPI Composite

2,625.985.540.21

Taiwan Weighted

16,296.86240.771.50
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