People walk past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Equity market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade on July 26 after staying on the back foot for the past five straight sessions, helped by value buying at lower levels and rally in blue-chips Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 235.23 points to 80,275.03 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up 86.6 points to 24,492.70.

From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Infosys, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries were the biggest gainers. Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Nestle and Maruti were among the laggards.

The unique feature of the bull market in India is its ability to climb all walls of worry. The market dismissed all concerns relating to elections, the Budget and the correction in the mother market U.S. The buy on dips strategy which has played out well in this rally continues to hold good, said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

After a sharp fall in intra-day trade on July 25, the BSE benchmark managed to recover some of the lost ground to settle 109.08 points or 0.14% lower at 80,039.80. The NSE Nifty dipped 7.40 points or 0.03% to 24,406.10. In five days, the BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled 1,303.66 points or 1.60%, while the Nifty declined 394.75 points or 1.59%.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,605.49 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong were trading higher while Shanghai quoted lower. The U.S. markets ended mostly lower on July 25. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.19% to $82.53 a barrel.

“The US economy’s 2.8% growth in Q2 confirms it won’t slip into recession, and we expect the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates by September due to easing inflation,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Image for representational purposes only.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The rupee was trading in a narrow range against the U.S. dollar in early trade on May 10, as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by elevated crude oil prices.

Forex traders said the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and significant foreign fund outflows dented investors’ sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.48, it touched 83.46 in the initial trade, registering a gain of 2 paise from its previous close.

On May 9, the rupee closed at 83.48 against the American currency.

“The Indian Rupee was again sold-off on May 9 as FPIs outflows continued to trigger demand for the U.S. dollar, while probable RBI selling at 83.50 did not allow a higher up move on the USD/INR pair. On May 10 also the same is expected from the USD/INR pair with RBI continuing its control at 83.50,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 105.30, higher by 0.07%.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.5% to $84.34 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 169.82 points, or 0.23% higher at 72,573.99 points. The broader NSE Nifty was up 67.05 points, or 0.31%, to 22,024.55 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on May 9 as they offloaded shares worth ₹6,994.86 crore, according to exchange data.

“FPIs offloaded ₹22,858 crore in six market sessions in May 2024, while DIIs (Domestic Institutional Investors) were buyers to the tune of ₹16,700 crore. Uncertainty in election results and higher U.S. treasury yields were the main causes of this sell-off,” Mr. Bhansali added.

BSE Sensex fell 231.62 points or 0.35% to settle at 65,397.62. During the day, it plunged 320.63 points or 0.48% to 65,308.61. File

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty fell for the third day running on Friday due to weak trends in global markets and soaring crude oil prices.

Foreign fund outflows also weighed on investor sentiments amid strengthening U.S. bond yields which are nearing 5% for the first time since 2007.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 231.62 points or 0.35% to settle at 65,397.62. During the day, it plunged 320.63 points or 0.48% to 65,308.61.

Falling for a third straight day, the Nifty declined 82.05 points or 0.42% to 19,542.65.

In three sessions to Friday, Sensex dropped 1,030 points while Nifty tanked 268 points due to selling pressure.

Among the Sensex firms, ITC, Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, JSW Steel and Power Grid were the major laggards.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and NTPC were the major gainers.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, “The added uncertainty stemming from West Asia tensions and the imperative for continued monetary tightening emphasized by the U.S. Fed Chair created a layer of volatility in the market.

“While heightened oil prices and elevated U.S. bond yields will impact the domestic monetary environment and operational metrics of the companies.”

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the negative territory. European markets were trading lower. The U.S. markets ended lower on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.14% to $93.40 a barrel.

“Rising rates are intuitively not positive for equity markets. With U.S. government bonds giving 5% dollar returns, the ask rate for equities goes up significantly if one were to adjust for risk premium and currency hedging,” Alok Agarwal, Portfolio Manager at Alchemy Capital Management said.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury touched 4.99%, up from 4.91% late Wednesday, before paring its gain to 4.98%. Early Friday, the 10-year Treasury yield was 4.94%.

Brent crude, the international standard, picked up $1.29 to $93.67 per barrel as escalating Hamas-Israel conflict fuelled supply concerns.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,093.47 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark fell 247.78 points or 0.38% to settle at 65,629.24 on Thursday. The Nifty declined 46.40 points or 0.24 per cent to 19,624.70.

A general view of the Bombay Stock Exchange.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Equity benchmark indices fell in early trade on Friday due to weak trends in global markets and soaring crude oil prices.

Foreign fund outflows also weighed on investor sentiments.

Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 320.63 points to 65,308.61. The Nifty declined 106 points to 19,518.70.

Among the Sensex firms, Hindustan Unilever traded over 1 per cent lower after the company reported a marginal decline in consolidated net profit to ₹2,657 crore for the second quarter ended September 30 amid subdued rural demand and heightened competitive intensity.

HCL Technologies, ITC, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement and Asian Paints were among the other major laggards.

Nestle, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 0.90 per cent to $93.21 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,093.47 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

“The U.S. 10-year yield hovering around 5 per cent continues to be a headwind for equity markets. The volatile situation in West Asia, though being largely ignored by the market now, can pose additional near-term challenges,” said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE benchmark fell 247.78 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 65,629.24 on Thursday. The Nifty declined 46.40 points or 0.24 per cent to 19,624.70.

The rupee declined by 8 paise to settle at 82.71 (provisional) against the U.S. currency on August 29 due to a rebound in crude oil prices and greenback in the global markets.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

The rupee declined by 8 paise to settle at 82.71 (provisional) against the U.S. currency on August 29 due to a rebound in crude oil prices and greenback in the global markets.

Foreign fund outflows from the equity markets also weighed on the rupee sentiment, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened higher at 82.58 amid overnight losses in the U.S. dollar against major global rivals.

Volatile equity markets and recovery in crude oil prices during the day hit the rupee sentiment, dragging the unit to a day’s low of 82.73.

The rupee settled lower by 8 paise at 82.71 against the U.S. dollar. On August 29, the rupee edged up by 1 paisa to settle at 82.63.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01% higher at 104.07.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.60% to $84.93 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex closed higher by 79.22 points at 65,075.82 while the broader Nifty advanced by 36.60 points to close at 19,342.65.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in capital markets on Monday as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,393.25 crore, according to exchange data.

The retail inflation touched a 15-month high of 7.44% in July, a spike from 4.87% in June. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The government expects vegetable prices to start cooling off from next month with the advent of new crops in the market, but rising crude oil prices is a concern even though it is still within the tolerable zone of $90 a barrel, a Finance Ministry official said.

The official further said that reduction in excise duty is not on cards and the government is driving infrastructure investment, and private sector capital investment is yet to gather steam.

Also Read | To curb price rise, Centre releases more grain stock under open market sale

He further said that the Centre’s capital expenditure which was 28% of Budget estimates at the end of June quarter, will reach 50% by September end. In the 2023-24 budget, the government had hiked capital investment outlay by 33% to ₹10 lakh crore in the current fiscal.

The official further said that a 6% rainfall deficit is unlikely to impact kharif sowing as the agriculture sector is resilient. The government has been taking steps to control inflation, including releasing wheat and rice stocks from reserves, putting restrictions on exports of rice, sugar, and allowing import of pulses and oilseeds.

“Flexible trade policy has been adopted to keep prices down. We must remember that global food prices are very high due to the Ukraine war and the supply of food grains has been affected and that is a global factor from which Indian cannot remain isolated. We have taken measures to isolate our population from that inflation and relative to others we are in a much better position,” the official told PTI.

He said interventions have been made to cool tomato prices and those steps will bear fruit in the coming months. Tomato is a seasonal crop and we will get another crop shortly and the price pressure will ease.

“This temporarily high inflation is partly driven by vegetables. I expect the vegetable prices will contract quickly, likely by next month,” the official added.

The retail inflation touched a 15-month high of 7.44% in July, a spike from 4.87% in June. However, wholesale price based inflation continued in the negative zone for the fourth straight month at (-)1.36% in July.

In July, the annual retail inflation in the vegetables basket was at 37.44%, spices at 21.63%, pulses and products at 13.27%, and cereals and products at 13%.

To a question on whether the government is concerned about the recent surge in crude oil prices, the official said that budget calculations do not include crude oil prices because the government does not give subsidies to oil marketing companies. So the fluctuation in crude prices does not have any impact on fiscal math.

Crude oil prices currently are hovering around $85 per barrel as against $70-73 a barrel at the time of budget.

“Rising crude oil price is a concern but they are still within a tolerable zone from the point of view of oil marketing companies. It doesn’t necessitate any policy adjustment right now. The budget calculations are on track. I think we are quite ok with oil at about $80-85, up to $90 we shouldn’t be worried. Beyond $90 it has an impact on inflation and other things,” the official said.

The official also ruled out any cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel, saying it is not under consideration as of now. “We are not expecting any excise duty cut in petrol, diesel,” he added.